


A piece of his game

by Lalalaartje



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: And Narry's only if you squint, Angst, Drama, Friends With Benefits, Fun, Game turns into serious business, I'd actually forgotten how much smut there was in this story, Lirry is only a little bit though, M/M, Oops, Recreational Drug Use, Teasing, a lot of smut, but they're like amazing friends, friendship turns into love, not much though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 22:03:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 100,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2748767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalalaartje/pseuds/Lalalaartje
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry needs to get over his feelings for a particular blonde-haired friend, and when he meets a perky, flamboyant boy in the club he can't help but think he's the one for the job. Little does he know, Louis has strict rules when it comes to his game, and Harry doesn't realize what he's getting himself into.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Story written ages ago by myself in a colaboration with the lovely Joya/Zaynsmybloke (she's not on here) and published on Wattpad. I asked her permission to put it online here, and I will try and edit in the foreseeable future. It's kind of weird posting this now, because I never ever ever write in first person now :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

I walked inside and stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I noticed him, sitting in an armchair next to the window, his headphones on and bopping his head to the music only he could hear. I cursed myself for liking him still so, so much, so undeniable, but I couldn’t help to keep staring at him, hoping he wouldn’t notice me while I was at it.

I loved watching him, I loved how his mouth moved along to the lyrics of the music, how he always lost himself in music. I loved him. I sighed at the realization. No matter how deep I tried to hide it, hoping it would disappear miraculously, it was still there. My heart still fluttered at every single one of his wholehearted laughs, at every touch and every smile he shot me. Even after all these years.

“Harry!” he suddenly shouted, a little too loud for the distance that was between us, due to the music in his ears. He threw of his headphones and ran over to me, pulling the bag of groceries I’d just went for out of my hands and taking it to the kitchen to rummage through it, looking for the crisps he wanted. He was smiling widely when he walked back out of the kitchen, into the living room where I was still practically frozen on the spot. “Fanjksh for ze chrgisps Haz!”he said, crisps falling out of his mouth proving he wasn’t the greatest multitasker when it came to eating and talking.

Finally I seemed to unfreeze, and managed a reply before I hid in the kitchen with the excuse I was going to start on dinner. He didn’t question it, even if it was only three in the afternoon. I closed the door and walked to the fridge, stacking the vegetables and meat in the fridge before I closed it again and sighed as I leaned my forehead against the cool metal. When was it ever going to stop? When would the love I felt for my roommate disappear? When would I not feel jealous whenever he brought some girl home to please her? When would I stop wishing he wouldn’t talk about their fantastic boobs and bums and hips and everything he liked about girls and not about me?

It had been over 5 years now, and I just wished it would go away. We were still in high school when I had realized it. We’d been friends ever since kindergarten and we were pretty much joined at the hip. Until I noticed that what I felt around him didn’t qualify as friendly feelings anymore. I was sure other guys in our year didn’t feel the same when their best friends changed into their basketball outfits. I was always the only one who stayed behind in the locker rooms because I’d been too busy staring at Niall changing, making me late for every single practice. Niall never questioned it, either he knew from the start, or he was too carefree to think there was something wrong with me. I’d ignored it for another two years before I decided to talk to him. After all, he was my best friend, I knew for sure he wasn’t a homophobe because he didn’t make harsh comments about the only openly gay couple in our school like all the other guys we knew, not even once, and he deserved to know.

It had been risky though, Niall was lying on an airbed in my bedroom, in the old sleeping bag he always used when he came for a sleepover, and we were discussing girls and their looks. Well, he was. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling and counting the cracks in the paint while I waited for the right moment. I wasn’t even paying attention to his rambling, and made that painfully clear when I interrupted his rant about the fabulous ass one of the girls in our school had with my announcement.

“I’m gay Niall.”

“Huh?”

“I’m gay. I like boys. I couldn’t care less about Leslie’s ass or Ginny’s boobs or Ann’s hips. I don’t like girls that way. I fall in love with boys.”

“Oh. Okay. Anyway, like I was saying, that Leslie’s ass is fine, but dude, she’s a stuck up piece of shit once you talk to her!”

And that was it. Not once did he question it, he just accepted it as if I had told him I didn’t like celery. But he didn’t leave any doubt about his preferences either, so I kept the next bit of my confession, the bit where I admitted I was madly in love with him, to myself and hoped it would go away.

Except it didn’t. Not when he was snogging a girl from our class at prom, and another one at the after party of our graduation. Not when we left for university and I learned about all his disgusting habits when we shared a flat, and I can assure you he had quite a lot of disgusting habits. Not when he brought home random girls and the sounds escaping from his bedroom made me gag, and even actually puke at some occasions. All it did was make me love him more, I think. And it made me fucking jealous.

Until New Years Eve, three months ago. I had vowed to myself that this would be the year that I got rid of my feelings for Niall, that I would stop being jealous and stop being a pathetic loser in love with his best friend who was straighter than a ruler. I wasn’t doing a very good job so far though, but I had to try.

After willing my feelings to go and hide under a rock instead of swarming around in my stomach, I finally did start dinner. Niall was hungry at every given time of day, so he wouldn’t mind eating early.

“Yum! Steak!” were the only words he said when I called him to the kitchen to eat. I smiled halfheartedly and ate mine while he gobbled up his food, amazing me by the speed at which he ate without choking.

“Your mushroom sauce is really the best Haz!” I looked up wearily, knowing that something was up. It wasn’t like Niall to give out many compliments, so he probably needed something from me.

“What is it Ni?”

“Nothing.” He pulled his most innocent face but he didn’t fool me. I put down my cutlery and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Fine, I need a wingman tonight.”

“A wingman? What do you need a wingman for? Last time I checked you did pretty well picking up girls by yourself.” I replied, getting up to put our plates in the dishwasher together with the pans and other kitchen utensils I’d used to cook.

He chuckled. “Why thank you.” He bit his bottom lip as he was leaning against the counter so he could look at me while talking. “No, it’s just… I met this girl at the pub last week, and we agreed to meet again in this club, and I really want to go, but maybe she won’t show up and then I don’t want to be alone.”

“Oh, and so it is okay for me to be alone while you go off and fuck her?”

“I won’t fuck her!” he exclaimed, but shrugged defeated when I raised an eyebrow at his statement. “Fine, maybe I will. Okay, probably I will. But you could maybe pick someone up too? You don’t go out much Harry, you won’t find your prince charming under the couch while watching The sound of music or whatever cheesy movies you like. Come on, it’ll be fun?”

“I highly doubt it.” I muttered between my teeth.

“Look, I’ll pay your first beer, and I won’t leave without you, what do you say?”

“That your plan sucks, because I know you’ll dump me the second this girl arrives and I’ll be at the bar while you go get some, getting drunk until I forget what a crappy night I’m having.”

“Oh come on Haz, don’t be grumpy. Please? Pretty pretty please with loads of cherries on top? I’ll clean the bathroom ànd the kitchen if you come.”

“Ugh Niall!”I grunted. “Fine, fine, I’ll come. But you pay me two beers and the taxi.”

“Yay!”Niall squealed in his very manly way and jumped around my neck to hug me.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. What time are we leaving?”

“In an hour! I’m calling dibs on the shower!” he yelled as he ran off towards the bathroom, leaving me to regret my decision already. This was bound to be a total disaster.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was the original one shot written by Joya, which made us ponder about the possibilities to turn it into a chaptered story :)

The club was pretty packed; filled with sweaty bodies, loud music and the smell of alcohol. I didn't feel like being here, but Niall dragged me down saying he had to meet a girl and didn't want to show up alone.

Now, I was seated on a bar stool getting drunk off of whatever the bar tender offered me, waiting alone while my friend got some in one of the back rooms. How sweet of him.

The worst part were the feelings I had for him. These feelings that I kept buried at all times to spare myself some embarrassment because Niall was not interested in me, or any lads to be exact. To put it bluntly; he liked boobs. A lot.

I'd learned to accept that I'd never have him. My feelings for him had managed to decrease over the last couple of years since I had met him, but they were still there; and they were almost impossible to ignore -- especially when these feelings of jealousy came knocking as well.

I scanned the crowd, looking for something, or more like someone, to do. Nobody pleased me. Especially the girls. I was gay, and dirty thoughts about them never crossed my mind; drunk or sober. Plus, none of the guys looked remotely like the type that were interested in guys.

I groaned in disappointment, accepting the fact that I was going to be alone for the night, chugging what I thought was a mix of rum and coke.

"Excuse me?" A short, lean male stood next to me, trying to catch the bartenders attention. He had feathery brown hair, fantastic arms and the most quirky arse I had ever seen in my life.

The bartender turned around and I saw her smile at the sight of the older looking boy leaning over the counter. "What can I get for you?" She sighed, sticking her cleavage out a little more than necessary.

"Just a beer, please. And it wouldn't hurt if you buttoned up your shirt a little bit. If I wanted to see naked women I'd go to the strip club next door."

He flashed her a dashing smile and she gasped in horror, looking like she was holding back the urge to insult him, although the latter may get her fired so she turned around to grab his drink without a word.

I stifled a laugh and he turned to look at me sitting on the stool next to him, shooting me a dirty look.

"What?" He shot, raising an eyebrow at me.

"That was kind of rude, don't you think?" I smirked, hoping my dimples would show because I knew how irresistible they were.

He rolled his eyes and leaned on his side, turning his body to face me. "Sorry mate, did I offend your girlfriend?"

"No. I don't do girls." I said matter-of-factly, winking at him. I saw his eyes widen slightly and he looked me up and down, licking his bottom lip before his teeth grazed over the flesh as well.

"And I don't do boys with curly hair." He said, shrugging. A smile quickly grew on his lips and my heart fluttered at the sight of his perfect white teeth and pink lips.

The bar tender turned around and he reached into his pocket for a few pounds to pay. I beat him to it, and pulled out a crumpled bill. "It's on me." I smiled at him and he winked, walking towards the dance floor with what seemed like an extra shake to his hips.

I bit my lip at the sight, feeling a little hot down below. I had never seen such a sexy man before, and I think he knew it.

I watched him on the dance floor, chugging his drink and shaking his hips sensually to the music. His back was facing me so all I saw was his slightly sweaty back and arse. He was with a group of girls wearing close to nothing, all waving their hands in the air.

I drank the last few sips of my rum and stood up, adjusting my navy blue blazer. I ran my fingers through my hair and made my way through the crowd, pushing past dozens of sweaty bodies until I reached my point of interest.

I grabbed the boy by the waist pulling him towards me, my chest and crotch pressing against his back and bum. He squealed in shock and I lowered my mouth to his ear. "You didn't think you could get away from me so quickly, did you?" I whispered seductively, forgetting about Niall and that whore in the other room.

His friends watched him carefully, staring at me in shock. He turned around in my arms, facing me, but leaving no distance between our bodies. His hips continued to shake to the music, causing some friction between our groins.

"No. I knew you'd come find me." He wrapped his arms around my neck as mine stayed at his waist. He leaned up and licked from the base of my neck to my earlobe, nibbling and pulling on it, making me moan.

"Why's that?" I groaned, biting my lip to fight back any more moans. The feeling of his rough lips and tongue against my skin, nipping and sucking and leaving fresh bruises just drove me insane. He didn't seem bothered that his friends were witnessing it all.

"I saw you walk in here with him, then he disappeared with her. Now you're trying to forget, aren't you?" He mumbled into my ear, his hands trailing down my chest and towards the waistline of my pants.

He reached under my shirt pulling on the short hairs under my belly button. "But I thought I made it clear when I said I didn't do curly haired boys." I felt his lips brush against my ear when he spoke before he pulled away, leaving my body feeling cold without the heat of his against mine.

He gropped me quickly, making my breath hitch in pain before winking and walking away, leaving me alone with his friends in the middle of the dance floor.

"What's his name?" I turned to my left and asked a tall blonde girl wearing a skimpy purple dress.

"Louis." She replied sweetly, looking at her other friends. "Louis Tomlinson."

"Tell him to come back here tomorrow." I muttered before turning away to take a seat at the bar stool, watching his muscular figure disappear out the back door.

"Hey, mate! Harry!" I heard an Irish boy yell, immediately looking to my left to find Niall with his arms wrapped around a brunette. He had sex hair and she looked like she was ready for round two. "Taxis here!" He shouted and I headed to the front door to meet him, trying to remember the name of the club I'd be visiting again tomorrow night.


	3. Chapter Two

I found myself in that familiar club again the next night, taking in my surroundings and thinking about nothing but Louis. Louis. Louis. That's all my brain had been able to process in the last 24 hours. That mysterious cheeky boy that was so difficult to read.

He seemed interested last night, maybe even a little horny, but he just left me standing there wanting more.

The thought of him haunted me. It was like a shadow clouding my brain that I just couldn't get rid of and it made me wonder what about him was so fascinating. Was it his crazy sex appeal or the game he seemed to be playing with my head? Or was it perhaps just the fun and the challenge of getting him where I wanted him?

I hoped the message got through to him from his friends to meet me here tonight. This time I was alone, though. No stupid blonde bloke on my mind, fucking a girl senseless in the next room. I could forget about him; I just wanted this Louis boy to help me do that.

As I gazed around the club, I saw no sign of the flamboyant, feather-haired boy prancing around. I didn't know whether he'd show up, but I didn't hesitate to get a head start on my drinking, just incase. I was always a better flirt with a slight buzz. I seemed to forget all my problems when I had alcohol in my system.

"Could I have a rum and coke please?" I asked the bartender, handing him a crumpled bill and taking a seat in the same stool I had been in last night when I spotted Louis for the first time. This time, though, the bartender was a handsome, curly-haired man instead of that slutty girl.

He handed me my drink and I downed a few sips immediately, loving the feeling of the fluid burning through my system as the music bursted through the speakers and the flashing lights blinded me.

"Hey sexy, I don't believe we've met before." A voice grumbled against my ear. I felt chills run down my spine and shot my cup down onto the bar, turning around in my stool to see the boy I had been waiting for. He was wearing a tight burgundy blouse with a white collar that accentuated his body tremendously. "The name's Louis." He introduced himself with a wink, although I already knew that.

I grabbed his waist and pulled him between my legs, our bodies close together as his arms wrapped casually around my neck. His crotch was almost pressed against mine but his chest leaned back so that he could look me in the eye.

"And my name's H-"

"Shhh." He said, placing a finger over my lips to silence me. "I don't want to know anything about you, just buy me a drink, yeah?"

He stepped out of my arms and turned to the bartender, asking for an alcoholic beverage I had never even heard of. "Is that everything?" The bartender asked when he came back with a full glass.

"No, I've got my eye on something else." He said, leaning over the counter and winking at the man who gawked at him quietly. "Perhaps he could find me after his shift?" Louis reached up and grabbed the bartenders tie, pulling him towards him and whispering something in his ear that made him blush to a shade of beet red. Without an answer, he pulled away, trying to hide the obvious semi boner that the light physical contact had given him.

"He really needs to get laid." Louis chuckled as he turned towards me, his free drink in hand. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy flutter inside me that made me feel almost possessive of Louis as I grabbed his waist and forcefully pulled him between my legs again. I was here with Louis, he shouldn't be flirting with other men. Right?

"Oh curly, calm down. At least let me get some drinks into my system before the real fun begins." He grabbed onto my shoulder with one hand, the other holding his drink in the air. "You are a feisty one."

"What did you say to him?" I asked, rubbing circles on Louis' waist with my thumbs, ignoring his comment. "I promised him sex after his shift if he gave me free drinks all night, but we all know that's not really going to happen." Louis choked back laughter and I couldn't help but be impressed by his performance.

"Why not, Lou?" I asked, chuckling as well but curious to know his answer. The boy was handsome, quite fit actually. If Louis wasn't here with me I assume he would be all over him.

"Because he has curly hair." Louis muttered with a cheeky grin, taking another sip of his drink. "And you know what I say about boys with curly hair."

"You don't 'do them'. I know." I said with an eye roll, imitating him. "But what about tonight?" I winked, licking my bottom lip quickly, referring to the multiple different scenarios I had imagined with Louis; all quite filthy to be frank.

"You're no exception to my rule tonight, no matter how sexy you and your curls are." He grinned, running a hand through my hair before turning to the bartender and asking for a refill, not even leaving my grasp.

"I'm surprised you came tonight." I mumbled, changing the subject. He grinned, his pearly whites showing through his plump lips. "Oh come on, curly. I could never turn down a free drink and a fun time."

When the bartender reached across the bar to pass Louis his new drink, I saw Louis wink at him and jealousy continued to flare inside me. I moved my hands towards Louis' bum and squeezed it tightly before moving down to his thighs to pull him forward so he was on my lap, straddling me.

"A fun time, yeah?" I groaned into Louis' ear when I leaned forward, blowing my hot breath in the older boys' ear. "Why don't you show me what you mean by that?"

I nipped at Louis' ear and nibbled on the lobe, pulling and licking it. Louis placed his beer on the bar behind me and wrapped his arms around my neck, leaning into the sloppy kisses. He sighed in pleasure and threw his head back, giving me access to his neck. "Show me how to have fun baby." I groaned seductively into his ear.

Louis nodded, enjoying the teasing but moved his hands down my arms, intertwining our fingers when he reached my hands. He crawled off of my lap and pulled me up from the stool. "You have two options. One: we can dance. Two: we can go back to mine for a little bit and I can show you my idea of fun."

"I think that's a no-brainer, really." I winked and Louis nodded, a cheeky grin plastered on his face as he guided me through the crowd, keeping a firm grip on my hand. I couldn't help but sneak a peek at Louis' fabulous arse, looking exceptionally good in the tight navy chinos he had on.

When we stepped out of the club and past the bouncers onto the busy streets of London, we walked to the edge of the curb to try to flag a cab. "Hey curly?" Louis asked as a yellow vehicle drove past, already carrying another client.

"Yes, Louis?" I turned to the other boy, noticing his bright blue eyes and the warmth of his fingers between my own. For some reason, I felt comfort in his grip.

"I don't go past second base on a first date."

"Is that what this is?" I smiled, my dimples appearing on my face as I turned my gaze back to the streets, flagging another cab and feeling a sense of pride when it pulled over for us.

We crawled into the back seat together, the question remaining unanswered as Louis gave directions to the his flat to the driver.

"If that's what you want it to be." Louis replied minutes later when the car had started driving and we were both buckled in, speaking quietly enough for the driver not to hear over the radio.

"What if it's not? Then do I hit a home run tonight?" I chimed, sending another wink in Louis' direction.

"Fine. But once the ball is hit out of the park I guarantee you will never find it again."

I took a moment to absorb Louis' words, not quite sure what he meant. But after some thought I realized Louis was giving me an option; either we can call this a date and I will see Louis again another time, or I can have some fun and a quick one night stand.

"You play by some strict rules, Louis." I stared out the window, trying to figure out where the driver was headed.

"But you determine the way this game will be played." Louis spoke with a smirk. The rest of the drive was in silence, but not an uncomfortable one. We both glanced out our windows, occasionally stealing glances to one another. I was extremely relieved when the car parked in front of an apartment complex because the sexual frustration was becoming too much to bear. Louis payed the driver before stepping out and sliding his key out of his pocket.

We made our way to room 17 and Louis swiftly unlocked the door, holding it open to let me in first like the proper gentleman, he was. I had different motives then to be anything but a gentleman, though. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Louis found himself pinned against his front door, my body holding him there as our chests and crotches touched.

"You make this so complicated, Louis." I growled, pressing my forehead to Louis, my lips brushing against the other boys' as I spoke. "You're so good at playing hard to get. It's so fucking sexy."

Louis gasped as my lips finally touched his, our tongues meeting almost instantly in a sloppy, dirty kiss. Teeth clattered as we eagerly tasted every inch of each others mouths, only breaking apart for short intakes of air. Louis' hands moved to the collar of my button-up shirt, fumbling with the top button. My hands were on either side of Louis' head, holding myself up against the door.

Louis' fingers fumbled with the rest of the buttons until he reached the bottom, immediately feeling my warm chest with his fingers when it was open. He pinched my nipple and received a throaty moan of pleasure against his lips in response.

Louis decided it was time to find a more comfortable position then being pressed against the hard, wooden door, so he pushed roughly on my chest, guiding me backwards as our lips stayed connected. "Bed or couch?" Louis panted as he broke away from the kiss for a second, I immediately attacking his jawline with open mouthed kisses.

"Bed." I choked out, grabbing Louis' thighs so that he jumped into my arms and wrapped his legs around my waist. Without another word, I carried Louis down the hall. He had his arms wrapped around my neck and his head rested on my shoulder like a child, catching his breath. He looked content in my arms.

I opened the first door to my right, revealing a bathroom, so I continued on down the hall and lucked out on the second door, finding a neat bedroom with a queen sized bed in the corner. I carried Louis to the bed and dropped him carefully onto it, crawling on top so I could look into the blue eyes that could compare to the brightest of oceans.

"You're so beautiful, Louis. So beautiful. So sexy." I moaned as I tugged at the bottom of Louis' shirt. Louis lifted his back so that I could slide it over his head before throwing it to the ground. I bit my bottom lip at the sight of Louis' tanned, fit chest and couldn't help but lean down to press kisses all along it. "So beautiful, Louis."

I trailed my way back up to Louis jaw line, connecting our lips in a heated kiss. I adjusted himself so that both of my legs were straddling the smaller boys' waist, our crotches touching, both of us apparently feeling a little hot and uncomfortable in our tight pants. I grinded down onto Louis, the sound of his moan making me even harder. Louis thrusted up in return to feel more friction, getting needier every second. Our chests both rose and fell heavily and our breaths were the only audible sound in the silence of the room around us. My hands trailed down Louis' chest and made their way to his waist line, eagerly fumbling with the zipper of his pants. Louis turned his head away from mine, breaking our lips apart. I stayed motionless, realizing my mistake as Louis grabbed my hands and held them over his head on the bed.

"You eager little boy." Louis chuckled, staring into my eyes. It seemed strange that he hasn't bothered to learn my name yet. "I'm guessing you've decided on the second option?" Louis smirked, his breath low and his lips swollen from snogging. "You want to have sex?"

"Yes, so badly." I admitted, keeping my fingers intertwined with Louis' because for some reason they seemed to fit so well together. "But I want to see you again."

"So no sex?" Louis said with a frown. I responded with a nod. "Good, because you almost made me break my number one rule."

"Just give me a few more dates and I will have gotten you to abolish that rule." I winked, crawling off the bed when Louis slowly began to sit up.

"You'll have to play the game right curly." Louis stood up and I noticed his eyes roaming my almost bare chest.

"Harry. My name's Harry." I muttered quickly, wanting him to know my name.

"I prefer curly." Louis smiled, leaning in to peck my lips one last time before pushing me towards the door.

"That's enough fun for one night. I hope you understand my definition of fun now babe. But now, go take care of yourself, yeah?" Louis pointed to my boner and my cheeks flushed. I knew it was obvious, but considering Louis had one as well I didn't think he would take notice.

"See you soon, Harry." Louis said as he opened the door, showing me the way out.

"How soon?" I asked. I found himself once again getting lost in Louis' blue eyes and could hardly tear my gaze away.

"Next Friday. You'll have to come find me, though. It's all part of the fun." Louis said, closing the door behind me. I found myself once again infatuated by this boys mysterious ways.

Hopefully I would find myself to become more than just a piece of Louis' game, because there sure was something special about that boy.


	4. Chapter Three

I didn’t know how to feel first, intrigued, frustrated, entranced, confused, or all of that together. The urge to “go and help myself” had been overwhelming, but I felt like I would play along in Louis’ somewhat sick game if I did, so I sat down on the cold marble stairs in his building and tried to control my breathing and _other bodily functions._ I knew I had succeeded to do so when I started wondering how on earth he could afford a flat in a building with marble stairs, so I got up and trudged downstairs, trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened. Two days, two fucking days, not more than three hours in total and the guy had wrapped me around his little finger already. How was this even possible?

  
I walked outside, taking notice of the house number that was on the metal fence and walked to the corner of the street, hoping I’d find a street name there.

  
 _67 Crosswell street_ _._ I imprinted it in my mind and realised I had no idea where I was exactly, and how far I was from home. I pulled out my phone and noticed it was pretty early for a Saturday night before I called a taxi to take me home.

  
Much to my surprise, all lights in our flat were on and Niall’s loud laugh bounced off the walls when I walked into our living room. The collection of beer bottles on the coffee table explained why he was laughing so hard at the cheesy Jim Carrey movie that he was presumably watching.

  
“Hazzabear!”he slurred as he heard the front door close behind me. “You’re home early! Come’ere mah man!” His grin was contagious and I felt my heart flutter in my chest as I returned it and fell down on the couch next to him. He pulled me close to him, and I cursed myself for forgetting how touchy feely Niall got whenever he was drunk. I could smell the aftershave on him as my head rested on his shoulder.

  
“I thought you were going out with that girl again today?” I questioned his presence in our flat on a Saturday night.

  
“Hmmm.” He swallowed a mouth full of beer. “I was, until she started talking about taking me to her family for Christmas. On our second date. While it’s only March.” He shuddered slightly as he said it, evoking a chuckle from me.

  
“So she’s a goner?” I held my hand out for his beer and took a swig when he handed it to me.

  
“Definitely. Anyway, weren’t you going to that club again tonight?”

  
“I went.” I replied as I emptied the rest of the green beer bottle.

  
“No luck tonight?” Niall winked, even though I hadn’t told him anything about my previous encounter with Louis, simply due to the fact that we hadn’t seen each other much since last night.

  
“What’s the definition of luck?” I decided to reply after contemplating on it for a minute or two. Apparently Niall wasn’t as drunk as he seemed to be, and my answer had somehow sparked his curiosity.

  
“You met somebody?” he turned slightly so he could look at my face while we talked.

  
I sighed and got us two more beers before I started the story of how I met Louis. From our first encounter at the club, his sassy teasing to him throwing me out tonight. I decided to leave out the rather sexual details though.

  
“Wow. So you think he’s worth waiting for?”

  
I groaned. “I don’t know Niall, how the hell am I supposed to know after spending three hours together?”

  
“But he sparked your interest enough to let you refrain from just fucking him, right?”

  
“I suppose.” And at that, Niall changed into a strange blonde version of a fin flapping dolphin. A squealing one too.

  
“Oh my god Harry! That’s the first time in all those years that you’re interested in some guy! I’m so excited!” _No, but it was just you I was interested in so I could hardly tell you that._

  
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. “So, you’re going to see him again next Friday?”

  
“I want to. Although I’m not sure how I’m supposed to _come and find him_ like he said I should.” I shrugged, and regretted telling Niall anything at all because he turned into some weird masterbrain scheming plans for “Operation Louis.” I’m not even kidding, that’s what he called it. How lovely, my straight best friend whom I had been in love with for five years was now setting me up with some guy who was playing me. Oh what a perfect life I had.

  
I couldn’t stand Niall’s scheming for long, and decided to call it a night a little later, still unsure of what I should be feeling.

  
The week seemed to drag on forever, even though I was pretty busy with school and work, and letting masterbrain Niall scheme my date for Friday.

  
It was Thursday, our weekly take-away pizza night, and we were sat in front of the TV, ready to watch the new episode of Criminal Minds. I honestly thought I would get out of more masterplans, but apparently I was wrong.

  
“What do we know about him Harry, let’s put it all together.” To my astonishment, he pulled out a notepad and started drawing a chart. _A chart for crying out loud!_ “Name: Louis Tomlinson. Friends: some scarcely dressed girls that were with him at the club last week. I wouldn’t mind meeting them, mind you.” He added with a wink, making me roll my eyes for more than one reason. “You know where he lives and you know he at least sometimes goes to that club.”

  
“Yes, Niall, we’ve been over this at least ten times this week.” I sighed, putting my empty plate on the coffee table, picking up my can of coke while at it.

  
He decided to ignore my irritation and continued his impression of Sherlock Holmes. “He said he wants you to come and find you, right?” I didn’t even bother answering him. “Yep. I still stick with my original idea. Go to his flat and wait for him to come out, but go early enough, or you’ll risk missing him because he’s already out.

  
“Niall!” I groaned. “I’ll look like an idiot!”

  
“Love, my dear Harry, turns us all into fools.”

  
“Oh bloody hell, how did you go from Sherlock Holmes to Shakespeare in two seconds?”

  
His boisterous laugh filled our entire living room, but after that, and much to my delight, he shut up about it. We watched the two episodes of Criminal Minds together and went to bed soon after, making sure we’d get enough sleep to survive the weekend. Niall had planned a weekend full of parties with friends from uni, and my weekend… well I sure wanted it to be filled with Louis and some action rather than sleep.  
  
My room was a complete mess, pants and shirts strewn across the floor in my search for the perfect outfit for tonight. A giggly Niall had suggested sometime this week that I would wear my best suit and buy a bunch of red roses to give him whenever he came out of his flat, but that was really out of the question, this wasn’t the freaking bachelor. I had tried on at least seven different outfits before I fell down on my bed again. I would’ve asked Niall for some serious advice, but he was gone out partying already, and he probably wouldn’t return before Sunday morning. I looked around and finally pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and an emerald button up shirt of which my mum always said it made my eyes come out. A quick glance at the clock learned it was almost eight, so I really needed to get going if I didn’t want to risk that Louis was already out of his flat. I ran a hand through my dark curls once more and looked at myself in the mirror, deciding to unbutton the top button of my shirt before I grabbed my keys and wallet and dashed out the door. I walked the short distance to the busier streets of the city and flagged a cab to bring me to Louis’, nerves making my stomach uneasy and my palms sweaty.  
  
I had been leaning against the fence for almost two hours now, and still no sign of the handsome bloke I’d met last week. I groaned as I felt a raindrop touch my nose. That too. I decided to be bold for once and went inside the building, basking in the warm air that was blown into the hall. I scanned the rows of name tags until I found it. “Tomlinson L.”

  
I took a deep breath and pressed the black button next to it, leaning against the board on the wall to make sure I’d hear his reply. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I tried again, a little longer now, but still nothing.

  
“Fuck! He wasn’t even here the entire time!” I cursed Niall for his stupid plan and myself for being even more stupid and going along with it. The only other clue I had of where to _come and find him_ was the club. It was still kind of early, but I had nothing else, so I called a cab to take me there.

  
Regardless of the early hour, the club was already packed. Music blasted out of the speakers and sweaty bodies were dancing the night away on the floor. I smirked when I noticed the skanky bartender from last week behind the bar. She had listened to Louis’ advice though, and was now wearing a slightly less revealing top. I walked towards the bar and sat down at the same spot as I had done last week, ordering a beer. She glared at me, obviously remembering I had been with Louis last week but handed me my cup and grabbed the crumpled bill from my hand. Rude much.

  
I turned around on my stool and let my eyes scan the room. Lots of skanky dressed girls swaying their hips to the music, some boys grinding on aforementioned girls, but no Louis. I leaned back against the bar, my eyes trained on the entrance and sometimes scanning the crowd to see if I had missed him, but he wasn’t there.

  
I grew tired of sitting here, and had pretty much given up on finding Louis here tonight. Apparently I hadn’t played by his rules. I slid of my chair and made my way to the bathroom, taking notice of the slight buzz in my skull. Perhaps I had been drinking a bit too much. One more, I decided as I pushed the door to the club open again. One more beer and then I give up and I’ll go home. The bartender downright ignored me as I leaned over the bar to order another beer from her, she was really getting on my nerves with that attitude of hers. I raised my hand and was about to shout to get her attention when I felt a warm body pressed against mine, arms wrapped around my waist and a husky voice whispering in my ear.

  
“Hey there curly. Hope you didn’t worry I wouldn’t show?”

  
I turned around in his arms and was met by his sly smile. “H-hey, Louis.” Damn it! I couldn’t even say hello without making a complete fool of myself.

  
He smirked and pressed a sloppy kiss on my lips before he pushed me back so I sat back on the stool, pushing my legs apart for him to stand in between them. He pushed himself even closer to me so our crotches were pressed against one another, his breath mingling with mine in the inch of space that he left between our lips. Fuck this game of his, he played me effortlessly and I couldn’t resist. He had me where he wanted me and we both knew it. He moved his hips from left to right to the beats of the music while his deep blue eyes locked with mine. I gulped at the friction this created between our groins, feeling myself getting a little excited already. He pulled me in for a kiss, his teeth grazing my bottom lip and tugging it slightly. I had the greatest difficulty to suppress a moan and flicked my tongue across his lips instead. He didn’t let me in, and before I could think of another plan to get access to his hot mouth, he pulled back and leaned over to my ear. His tongue swirled over my earlobe shortly before he spoke.

  
“Come on curly, you still owe me a dance from last week.” His voice was seductive and low and made me want to moan, but I had no chance to process it because he had already pulled me to the dance floor. I hardly heard the music, the only thing I registered was his lean body in front of me, his damn sexy ass grinding against my groin, his arms wrapping around my neck as he threw his head back on my shoulder. It seemed as if no one else was there, only the two of us.

  
I didn’t know how long we had been dancing before he turned around and took his seducing to the next level. He attacked my lips with his feverish kiss, his tongue plunging in my mouth and twirling around mine in a heated battle, our groins pressed together, letting me feel that his little game got him more than a little excited as well. When I pulled back to breathe, he moved his lips to my jaw, suckling on my skin as he continued his journey to my neck, kissing, licking, sucking and –oh god- biting down on the sensitive skin. I got more than a little uncomfortable in my pants and the desire burning inside me urged me to take this somewhere private.

  
“Louis…” I breathed in between stifled moans.

  
“Yes curly?”his ever teasing smirk was on his face when he pulled back to look at me.

  
“Let’s get out of here.” I said curtly, grabbing his hand so we could push through the crowd towards the exit. The chilly night air hit my skin as soon as we stepped outside, but at least the rain had stopped. Once again I noticed how much comfort I got from his fingers laced with mine, the firm grip he had on my hand. He had to run a few passes to catch up with me as I was obviously in a hurry to get home with him.

  
“Taking me home now, curly?” he teased, a crooked smile ghosting on his lips.

  
“It’s closer to here.” I replied, only now realising that we hadn’t even discussed where we would go.

  
“What about blondie? Or have I already managed to make you forget about him?”

  
I chuckled at his remark. How on earth did he knew what was going on in my life in this short amount of time?

  
“Niall’s away for the weekend, so we’ll be alone.”

  
“Oooohhh, his name’s Niall then?”

  
“Please Louis, let’s not talk about him now.”

  
“Sorry.” He sounded sincere, and for some reason, I was surprised that he apologised.

  
The rest of the ten minute walk was spent in silence, only our ragged breathing and the sound of traffic passing by filling our ears. I pulled him upstairs with me, pausing in front of the door to our flat, trying to get my keys out of my pocket. I failed miserably as Louis pushed me against the door and then his own body against mine, his mouth roaming my neck. His hand slid from my shoulder blade down to my waist and to my abs, making me gasp at his feathery touch. The right side of my face was pressed against the cool wood of our door and I bit my lip when I felt his hand slide further down, into my front pocket.

  
“Here they are!” he exclaimed as he pulled his hand out again, my keys dangling in between his fingers.

  
“Fuck you Louis.” I breathed as I stood back up now his weight was lifted from my back. I shoved the key in the lock and let us in, locking the door again behind us.

  
“Na-ah curly. Like I said, I don’t do guys with curly hair. And remember, we’re playing this by my rules.”

  
His mouth opened to continue his sassy speech, hand on his hips to make it complete, but I didn’t want to hear it. I walked up to him, standing in the doorway to our living room and wrapped my arms around his frame, pulling our bodies close while I initiated yet another kiss. My hands wandered down his back to his luscious behind. I squeezed it softly, making him moan from the back of his throat. I felt strangely smug about that, realising that there were two of us playing this taunting game. My hands slid further down to his thighs and I pulled them up, making him jump up and lock his legs around my hips.

  
“You decide this time, bed or couch?” I asked, slightly out of breath from our heated kissing.

  
“Bed.” He breathed before he attacked my lips once more. Hardly a minute later, I threw him down on my bed, thanking myself for putting the mess of clothes back in my wardrobe before I left earlier. I sat down on my knees, straddling him and leaned down to shower his neck with kisses, leaving one or two love bites in the process. I smirked at the forming bruises and couldn’t help thinking I had marked him as mine, even though he still claimed we were playing a game. His hands were fumbling with the buttons of my shirt and soon enough he was pushing the fabric of my shoulders. I pulled my arms out and let my hands disappear underneath his grey T-shirt, my fingertips brushing over his tanned skin until I found his nipples. I pinched them softly, evoking a gasp and a moan from him. I winked at him before I took his slightly swollen lips between mine, sucking and nibbling on them while I pulled his shirt up slowly, inch by inch. I broke the kiss to pull it over his head, leaning down on top of his body to press kisses on his chest, sucking on his nipples and softly biting them while his hands roamed my back. I heard him breathe harshly and moans kept tumbling from his lips, making me proud of how I was able to make him feel. I felt his fingers fumbling with my belt and soon after he threw it across the room, his hands moving to my back again. I gasped as he lifted the waistband of my pants and his hands slid inside, cupping my bum and massaging it as I continued kissing the skin on his torso.

  
“Louis…” I breathed next to his ear, nibbling on his earlobe while he struggled to take the lead and attack my neck instead. I felt his hands move to the front of my pants and I moaned at the thought alone, his somewhat cold fingers touching the hot skin beneath my boxers.

  
_Bzzzz bzzzz._

  
What. The. Actual. Fuck?

  
We both froze, and much to my disappointment, he pulled his hands out of my pants.

  
“Well, curly, either that was your phone, or you have some very kinky devices hidden in your pants.” He laughed wholeheartedly, his head thrown back on his neck. “I do believe this is my cue to leave though,” he winked and I got off him, sitting down on the bed. I watched him pull his shirt back on and gazed up as he walked up to me.

  
“Now don’t frown curly, you’re much sexier when you smile.” He flicked my nose before he planted another kiss on my lips. He walked out the bedroom door and turned around one last time. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll come and find you this time.”He winked and dashed out the front door, leaving me again with a not so little problem. He’d give me blue balls if he continued like this, damn him! “Bye Harry!” he shouted before I heard the door shut behind him.

  
I sat there for a good five minutes before I remembered what had stopped us from continuing our little game and I pulled out my phone.

  
_And and and? How did it go??? X Niall_

  
Was he fucking kidding me? Stupid Irish cockblock!


	5. Chapter Four

I was woken up the following morning by a loud banging noise that wouldn't stop. I didn't know what it was, but the fact that I had a light hangover from the night before made my head throb with every pound.  
  
I groaned, throwing my pillow over my head and burying myself deep within the comfort of my pillows. Bloody construction. It wasn't even noon yet on a Saturday and they were already drilling the roads.   
  
"Curly," I vaguely heard a voice shout from the other side of my apartment, but the pounding didn't stop. I jumped, holding my body up with my hands as I laid on my stomach, listening to more shouting and trying to figure out what it was.   
  
"You fucking arse hole get your lazy ass out of bed before I pound the door down!" Louis. What was he doing here so early? I rolled over in my bed to see it was only half past nine.   
  
Groaning, I sat up on the corner of my bed and rubbed my eyes, realizing the pounding noise was in fact Louis' fist on the door. "Harry!" He shouted again and I had to put a stop to it before he woke the neighbours.  
  
I stumbled to the door in nothing but my briefs and unlocked it quickly, opening it to reveal his small, lean figure behind it. His fist was raised as he was prepared to knock again and his face lit up when he saw me. "Finally." He said, brushing past me into my apartment without an invitation.   
  
"What are you doing here so early?" I moaned, my voice low and husky from sleep as I ran a hand through my messy curls, hoping I didn't look like too much of a mess in front of Louis. He was dressed casually, with a tight grey jumper and dark fitted jeans, the colourful scarf around his neck adding a nice touch.   
  
"You look like a mess." He said, ignoring my question. "A hot mess, though."   
  
He winked and leaned back against my kitchen counter, making it obvious that he was staring at my bare chest. In just over a week he had managed to see me like this more than others would deem necessary for two people who were basically strangers, but neither of us minded. He enjoyed messing with my head, and I enjoyed messing around with him. In fact I hardly ever thought of Niall when he was around, which was a bonus.   
  
"No good morning kiss? Is that against your rules?" I asked, grinning as I slumped against the counter opposite him.   
  
"It is until you brush your teeth." Louis teased, and I couldn't help but laugh. I stepped forward slowly, lifting my hand up to cup Louis' cheek and smiled as I leaned towards him. He had his hands on my chest, but I was stronger and pushed my body forcefully against his. "Come on, Lou. One kiss." I leaned in some more, my lips puckered an inch away from his. He chuckled and turned his head trying to avoid them. His fists hit my chest violently and his laugh echoed through the room as he tilted his head back some more. "Harry!" He shouted, finally pushing me off of him before I managed to get what I wanted.   
  
I gave up, but kept my hand on his cheek and watched him, both of us holding back laughter. "Go get dressed you bastard. I'm taking you out. And brush your hair, I can't be seen with you like that." He said, running his fingers through my knotted mop of hair and twirling a couple of strands between his finger.   
  
I shook my head at his demands but turned away without arguing and made my way to the bathroom. He followed, leaning against the door way and watching me do my hair. I saw him biting his lip, gawking at me in the mirror as I leaned over it and winked. He blushed a little bit and I felt a strange sense of pride knowing I made the boy playing so hard to get blush at such a simple action.   
  
After I brushed my teeth and mouth washed, I turned to Louis who was still standing in the door frame and puckered my lips. He stood on his tip toes to reach them, kissing me feverishly and sloppily for a few seconds before pulling me away from him by the back of my hair and pushing me towards my bedroom. "Get dressed." He ordered, smacking me roughly on the arse as I walked ahead of him.   
  
We proceeded to my bedroom where he sat on my unmade bed, observing me once again. "Do you enjoy watching me, Louis?" I mumbled as I slipped on a fresh band tee shirt and stripped myself of my briefs. I purposely made myself wiggle my hips a little sexily as I slid out of them and smirked as Louis' eyes widened when my length appeared. Not to brag, but I was quite fortunate in the lower department and Louis' jaw must have dropped to his stomach when he saw me strip down so comfortably.   
  
"When you're like this, yes." He said slowly, smiling at me with lust in his eyes. At least he knew what he was missing out on due to the ridiculous rules of this game he was playing with me.   
  
"You could see me like this more often." I said, reaching into my drawer for a fresh pair of Topman boxers. "As long as I get to see you in return."   
  
"Be patient, curly." Louis winked, remaining calm. I couldn't help but think that if we were in opposite spots I would have jumped him immediately at the sight of him stripping. Damn, this boy was good.   
  
Once I shrugged on my black skinnies and a pair of converse we headed out the door. I turned to lock it behind me but moaned when I felt Louis' body press against mine and his tanned arms wrap around my slim waist as he held me close to him. He didn't say anything, he just blew some hot breath on my ear but that was enough to drive me crazy. "Damn, Louis." I moaned, turning around in his arms once the bolt was secured. "You've got to stop doing that."   
  
"You don't invent the rules, curly. Sorry." He whispered in my ear, tugging on it with his teeth before stepping away from me and down the stairs.  
  
We walked to the coffee shop down the street and sat at a table in the corner. It was fairly busy, considering the time. It was nearing half past eleven now and the lunch menu would begin soon. The waitress came to our table and Louis ordered us each a tea, insisting that breakfast was his treat.   
  
"Why did you come to my house so early, Lou?" I mumbled, stirring some milk and sugar into my tea as I watched his kissable lips turn up into an award winning smile.   
  
"I was hoping you slept naked." He said seriously, shrugging his shoulders like it was such a casual thing to admit. "But that sexy morning voice was an extreme bonus."   
  
I grinned, leaning over the table to whisper to him. "You could spend the night if you'd like to hear it again. It always sounds sexier after a night of hot sex as well."   
  
"Is that so?" Louis said, scooting his chair to the side of the table so we were next to each other instead. "You promise?" His hot breath on my air made me shiver and it didn't help me any when his tongue grazed over the earlobe. I nodded quickly, promising. "Good. Because I hate when people break their promises. Because then I get angry."   
  
His hand trailed from the back of my neck down to my chest, leading to my torso. His fingers tickled my skin through my shirt and I bit my lip to suppress a moan as he teasingly approached the waist line of my pants, beginning to palm me through my pants.   
  
"And you don't want to see me when I get angry." He whispered, nipping on my ear again. I gulped and tensed, because we were in a crowded restaurant full of people that could observe us in disgust.  
  
"But I'm not as eager as you seem to be curly. I can wait, so no sex for you tonight. If I jump into your pants now, it would ruin my entire game plan. Sorry darling." He chuckled as I started to get a hard on underneath his fingers but stopped rubbing my crotch and leaned back into his seat, watching my uncomfortable face with a satisfactory smile.   
  
"Fuck Lou, really?" I groaned as he leaned to his side to dig a few pounds out of his pocket. He slipped them onto the table and got up, quirking an eyebrow expectantly as he waited for me to get up. "I can't, Louis."   
  
"Curly, sweetheart... Those Topman briefs are tight on your perfect little figure so I'm sure they'll hide everything. Well, hopefully." He said with a wink, turning on his heels and walking out the door, leaving me at the table alone, hard.   
  
I groaned, pushing myself out of my seat and stuffing my hands in my pockets, hoping it hid my obvious boner. I growled a few inappropriate words under my breath, cursing Louis for being such an amazing player in this game. I had to step it up.   
  
When I walked out, Louis was leaning against the restaurant wall, one foot propped up on it, his hands buried in his pocket. His gaze turned to me and he shook his head at the sight of me. "No, Harry. No covering up."   
  
He grabbed my wrists and lifted them out of my pocket, moving his hands down when they were free and intertwining our fingers together. "How many rules do you have you bastard." I muttered, and a croaky laugh erupted from his mouth.   
  
"A lot." He muttered, leaning up to peck my lips, releasing my hands and leading the way to our next location. My hands instantly dug back into my pockets to hide my embarrassment.  
  
I jogged behind him to catch up and he looked at me from the corner of his eyes, and then I saw him roll them dramatically. "Did I not just tell you to keep your hands out of your trousers?" He growled, stepping in front of me to pull them out and intertwine them with his own. "I guess we'll have to walk like this."   
  
He lifted my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it gently three times before continuing to pull me down the street. His hand fit comfortably in mine and it actually felt good, the heat of our skin together in the chilly air.   
  
Louis dragged me to a park. Not a nice park consisting of beautiful landscapes and endless forests in the background - literally a children's park with swings and slides and even sandboxes.  
  
"Louis, why are we here?" I mumbled and he tugged me to a bench. There were a few children playing on the jungle jim set, shouting and laughing as they enjoyed their day without a worry.   
  
"My dad took me here a lot as a kid. I like coming once and a while to remind myself of my childhood." Louis' words left me without a reply because they were literally the only personal thing he had said to me since we met. Hell, his own friends had to tell me his bloody name before he did.   
  
Louis pushed me down on the bench by shoving on my chest and instantly crawled onto my lap, ignoring the dirty looks mothers observing may shoot us. He straddled my hips, his knees on either side of them and his cushiony bum on my crotch. He wrapped his arms around my neck and rested his head on my shoulder, resembling a child eager for a nap.   
  
He sat quietly, his breath tickling my neck. It was strange of Louis to be cuddly instead of teasing me like he usually did. His fingers twirled the curls at the base of my neck and my arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer.   
  
"You're so fucking cozy." Louis moaned, his eyes closing. "You're so big and you can hold me so easily. I like when you control me. I want you to pin my arms over my head when we fuck and show me how big and strong you are..."   
  
I moaned at his words and sighed in pleasure when I felt his lips on my neck, licking and nipping and biting at the flesh. He sucked it, leaving a bruise I knew would still be bright the following morning. "Louis..."   
  
He leaned up and attacked my lips, his teeth grazing over the bottom one and tugging on it. I wondered where his sudden eagerness sprouted from, but I couldn't process my thoughts as his tongue met mine and we battled for dominance. His tongue grazed every part of my mouth, tasting delicious as it explored. His fingers slowly slid up down my neck and to the bottom of my shirt, lifting it up to feel my hot stomach under his cold skin, ticking between my abs. He pulled at the hairs that trailed beneath my belly button and I moaned in his mouth.   
  
"So eager, Curly. So horny." He purred before his lips made their way down my jaw line. His hands slipped out from under my shirt and backup to my neck, his lips leaving my skin as he leaned his neck back, moaning as he grinded his hips down onto mine, both of us getting hard and the friction driving me absolutely insane.   
  
The distance between our lips was driving me insane, so I grabbed his cheeks and pulled them back to mine eagerly. Our open-mouthed kisses were sloppy and messy, but so so good.   
  
I thrusted my hips up slowly to meet him half way, his lips leaving mine again as he moaned my name in a whisper, and I took it as a cue to lick a trail from the base of his neck to his earlobe, licking and tugging on it.   
  
"Come back to my place." I groaned seductively into his ear, my breath coming out shakily. I reached my hands behind him and cupped his cheeks in my hands, squeezing them and pushing him back down onto me. My dick was hard and burning with the need to feel him even more, but I knew he wouldn't give up so soon.   
  
"No, no. Not today." Louis whispered, slowing his grinding down until his hips stopped completely and he was seated in my lap again. His head was back on my shoulder and I mentally slapped myself for ruining our intimate moment.   
  
He pecked my cheek and climbed off of my lap, his bonnet achingly obvious. "This is my cue to go again. Plus, I suppose those poor innocent children have seen enough." He chuckled, and I wanted to club him in the jaw for doing this to me again; leaving me at such a painful time.   
  
I wanted to argue with him, curse him out, but instead all I said was: "Come to mine late tomorrow afternoon?"  
  
"Of course, Curly. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He winked, turning sexily on his heels and shaking his hips as he walked.   
  
"Bloody hell." I mumbled to myself, rubbing my hands over my face and into my curls, tugging on them. I looked up to see two pairs of eyes watching me in disgust, their eyebrows so high on their foreheads I thought they might be pinned there. I suppose they had noticed us then.   
  
I placed my hands casually over my crotch at their stares, sending a quick text to Niall asking if he'd be home tonight. He replied that no, he was about to have two girls ride him and he couldn't possibly miss out. At least he was getting enough for the both of us.


	6. Chapter Five

Once my not so little problem had solved itself and the women who had been trying to kill me with their eyes had shifted their attention to their toddlers running around the playground, I got up and quickly walked home. I still had a hard time wrapping my mind around what had just happened before. It was as if Louis had let his guard down, even if it was only for a split second, but it was there. First when he had kissed my hand, it had seemed so strangely intimate, in a non-sexual way, and I hadn’t seen anything in it, until that second time. First he tells me something personal, and it felt really, really personal in a way, and then he practically asks me to hold him. Well, before he pulled his walls back up and disguised it with a comment about fucking me.

This might just mean that Louis wasn’t all about playing his game, but maybe, very maybe he felt something between us too. I had felt it from the start, when our hands were linked that first time, it had been comforting, and it was the biggest reason why I had opted for not fucking him but meeting him again. And even though he was damn good at this game, and left me more frustrated every single time, I didn’t regret it. I liked Louis.

I bit my lip at the realisation, unsure of where this would lead me. Unsure if it wasn’t just a road leading towards disaster and more heartache.

I unlocked the door and pressed the power button on the stereo as I walked to the couch, jumping over the back so I fell down on the comfortable pillows. I really needed to step up my game if I wanted a say in this, and tomorrow would be my chance. I bit the nail of my left thumb while I considered my options. Cooking for or with him was eliminated immediately, it was too boyfriendish, made our appointment look too much like a date, and I feared that might scare him off. After three hours of thinking and weighing my options, I decided to just see what the moment brought. We had plenty of DVD’s we could watch, we could order some pizza or Chinese or no matter what kind of food if we didn’t want to cook, and through it all, I’d just try to get him to open up some more. And I should be more aware of his teasing, not letting him lead me on so easily.

I was tired still, he had pulled me out of bed after a mere four hours of sleep that morning, so I just made me some scrambled eggs on toast before I went to bed, falling into oblivion quite soon.

It was almost noon when I decided I was done with lazying around in bed and got up, taking a long hot shower before I took my sweet time getting ready. A Simpsons rerun was on when I fell down on the couch with a bowl of cereal, and even though I’d seen all the episodes at least five times, I still found myself laughing at them. The later it got, the giddier I became. Even though Louis had said he’d surely come over today, I felt like I couldn’t be entirely sure. Maybe he was once again playing me. Niall texted me at some point that he wouldn’t be home until late that night, but I couldn’t say I minded, it offered me some very welcome private time with Louis.

The Simpsons were replaced by a show I didn’t know and didn’t think was very funny, so I started flipping through the channels, trying to find something worthy of watching when there was a loud knock on the door. I could hear his teasing tone from the hallway.

“Hey curly, are you awake this time?”

I shot up from the couch and almost ran towards the door, struggling to turn the key in the lock and smiling when I finally succeeded and the opening door revealed his smiling face. He stepped inside, brushing past me before I even had the chance to invite him in and waited while I closed the door again. He flashed me his bright smile as I walked closer to him and wrapped his arms around me before he captured my lips between his, moving them together in a strangely intimate kiss.

“Honey puffs curly, really?” he smirked as he pulled away, licking his lips and walked into the living room, taking in his surroundings as he did so.

“They’re yummie!” I defended myself a little to eagerly, making him chuckle as he took a seat on the couch. “Do you uhm, do you want a drink or something?”

“Sure curly, whatever you’re having!” he shouted, standing up again to take a look at our movie collection. Niall was pretty much a movie freak, and about half of the DVD’s we owned were still in the wrapper, never opened and never watched. I went into the kitchen to make some tea, suddenly feeling nervous about him being here and needing something to occupy my mind and my hands. He held a couple of DVD’s in his hands when I walked back into the living room, two steaming cups of tea in my hands, his with sugar, without milk, if I remembered correctly from yesterday. He was reading the description on the back and I felt my knees go weak at the smile he shot me as I handed him his cup. He put the DVD’s on the coffee table and sat down, his hands wrapped around the cup as to warm them. He looked different when he sat there, sipping his tea and just quietly looking around. I kept my gaze down, still a bit nervous and unsure what to say or do. He sat on the armchair on the left of the couch where I sat, and even though the silence wasn’t uncomfortable in any way, I was very aware of his eyes resting on me.

“Well, you’re awfully quiet today honey puffs!” he said after a while, causing me to look up, a crooked smile on his face as he looked me up and down. I felt my face flush and tried to regain my composure, remembering my plan for today. I wasn’t going to let him get to me, not again.

I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my curls, letting them fall in front of my eyes so I had to flip them back afterwards. “Yeah, sorry, lost in thoughts.” I smiled. “So, what did you have in mind for today?” I asked him, straightening my back and locking eyes.

“Really now curly? You ask me to come over and still I have to think about what we’ll be doing? Tsssk.” He said, shaking his head, but his smile gave away that he was only joking.

We ended up watching a movie, and I was somewhat relieved that at least he wouldn’t be able to leave me out in public after another round of his teasing. Yesterday had been embarrassing enough.

Much to my surprise, today was remarkably quiet in the teasing department, we just watched two movies and ordered Chinese for dinner. I got up to put the left overs in the fridge while Louis picked out yet another movie. I came back with a new bottle of coke, the first one already empty and chuckled as I saw which DVD he was holding, a big grin on his face.

“Really, Louis, Bring it on?” I shook my head and quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Oh come on, it’s a funny movie! And besides, I have the perfect thing to go with it.”

I frowned at his back now he had turned around to put the movie on and waited for him to join me on the couch again. My arm was resting casually on the back of the sofa, and I had noticed he had shifted closer during the previous two movies. He jumped back on the couch, not bothering to fast forward the commercials and crossed his legs in front of him as his back rested against the armrest, leaning back to get something out of his pocket. I quirked an eyebrow as I looked at the small plastic bag in his hand, curious if this was what I thought it was.

“I swear Harry, smoke these and Bring it on turns into the funniest and best movie of all times.”

Okay, it was what I thought it was.

“Oh no no no, I’m not smoking _that._ ” I said quickly, turning around so I was facing him, my eyes wide at the realisation.“In fact, I’m not smoking anything, ever.” I added.

“Oh Harry, sweetheart, you’re so adorable!” he cooed, pulling on my hand so I was sprawled halfway across his lap, our faces only inches apart. He brushed his lips against mine teasingly, making me want more. “Come on curly, go wild. Have a try.”

I gulped, feeling very much out of my comfort zone and pulled myself together, shaking my head fervently. “No, I’m not smoking. I don’t mind if you do, but I won’t.”

He studied my face for a minute or so before he wet his lips, sucking them in his mouth and letting his teeth scrape over them. The sight made me want to moan, but I kept quiet and stared back, sighing relieved when he shrugged. “Okay, do you have an ashtray though?”

I nodded and reached out for the drawer under the coffee table, producing a green marble-like ashtray. “Thanks, curly,” he winked before he leaned in and kissed me, his tongue running along the outlines of my lips. He pulled back before I had the chance of continuing the kiss and I only barely succeeded in holding back a whine at the loss of contact. He produced a lighter and pulled one of the joints out of the plastic bag, putting it in between his lips and lighting it. He inhaled deeply in one long drag and I watched a relaxed smile take over his lips as he leaned further back, his bum sliding a bit forward on the couch so his shoulder blades were against . The movie had begun, but neither of us was paying much attention. I was watching him, and much to my surprise he actually looked sexy smoking. The way he held it, the way his lips closed around the small carton in the back… just ungh! I despised smoking, and always thought Niall looked like an idiot on the rare occasions he smoked, but he somehow pulled it off. Damn him, was there anything that didn’t look good on him?

“Come’ere curly,” he said after a while. I must’ve been staring for god knows how long and I let him pull my hand, then my shoulder, turning me around until my head was resting in his lap. His crooked smile was hot and cute at the same time, and he had this strange, far away look in his eyes I kept on looking at his hand holding the joint as he tapped it over the ashtray, making the excess ash fall off before he lifted it back to his mouth. He took a long drag and blew out before he leaned over and put his parted lips over mine. I eagerly opened my mouth, turned on by the sight and expected him to kiss me. Instead, he slowly blew out the smoke that was still left in his mouth. I was taken by surprise, gasped, and only just managed not to cough violently because of the hot air invading my mouth.

Almost immediately, I felt a bit funny in my head, not unpleasant at all and a small smile tugged on my lips as I looked back up at him, being met by his sexy smirk.

“’s not that bad now, is it?” he asked knowingly.

“No…” I hesitantly admitted. “But you blowing the smoke into my mouth is a bit uncomfortable, actually. Let me have a drag.” I asked, holding my hand up for him to put the joint between my fingers.

“Go easy the first time curly, not too much or you’ll choke on it.”

I locked eyes with him as I brought it to my mouth, my lips closing around the slightly moist paper and I inhaled the air. It tasted sweet and my lungs had to adjust to the smoke invading it instead of fresh air. I closed my eyes and kept my breath for a second, allowing myself to process it before I opened my eyes again, looking at his when I blew out. A light buzz started forming in my skull, in a way comparable to getting drunk, yet so different from it. Louis’gaze was fixed on me laying in his lap as he took the joint back and took a drag, and it remained there while we kept passing it back and forth until it was finished. I sat up to put it out in the ashtray and let myself willingly been pulled back onto his lap. He pulled me even closer, my back pressed flush against his chest and his legs on both sides of my torso. I shifted a bit so my head was resting on his shoulder and I could watch him. Half a smile pulled his lips upward and his eyes moved from mine to my lips before he leaned in, pausing when our lips were only a hairbreadth apart. I could feel his hot breath on my slightly chapped lips and it drove me just about crazy. I charged forward, pressing our lips together in a sloppy kiss. Kissing while we were both high was… an experience to say the least. I flicked my tongue against his lips after a minute or so, and he granted me access to his hot mouth, sucking on my tongue as soon as it rubbed against his. I moaned from the back of my throat, and normally I would’ve tried everything to get more out of this kiss, but now, the rush of the kiss was sufficient to fill my needs. I pulled away when I was out of breath and found Louis smiling brightly at me, flicking my nose playfully before he pecked my lips.

“I think I like you when you’re high curly.” He smirked, making me chuckle.

“I think I like me too when I’m high.” I replied, my chuckles turning into a giggle fit as he joined in. I found it was hard to stop laughing once I started, and my stomach ached when I finally succeeded in calming down, both of us panting on the couch. I grinned at him, feeling just about on top of the world, as if nothing could harm us in our little bubble and slid down in his lap, resting my head on his leg as I grabbed the remote and pressed play so the movie would begin and the somewhat annoying song from the main menu would finally stop.

He was right, the movie was so much better and funnier when you were high. And he was so much better too, in a non-teasing sexually frustrating way. One of his hands rested on my chest and played with my shirt while the other brushed through my fringe. By the end of the movie, the high was diminishing but I wasn’t ready to give up on the comfortable atmosphere that it had brought along, so when his hand reached out to drop the remote on the coffee table after turning the TV and DVDplayer off, I grabbed it. I was afraid he’d take a run for it again, and I didn’t want him to go, not yet. I enjoyed this intimate night far too much.

He lifted an eyebrow, his eyes locking with mine, making me struggle to get the words out.

“Y-you had a-another one, r-right?”

His wholehearted laugh bounced off the walls of the now silent apartment, making me chuckle as I looked to the floor in shame.

“Looks like my curly got the hang of it, huh!” he winked after he had pulled my chin up so I was looking at his face again. His hand dug into his pocket and he retrieved the plastic bag and his lighter once more, handing them to me. “The honour is all yours now love.” He winked and watched me intently as I propped the joint up between my lips and lit it, enjoying the now familiar but oh so pleasant sensation as the smoke filled up my mouth and next my lungs. I wanted to take another drag but he pulled my hand towards his face, pressing the back of my hand against his lips as he inhaled.

“Now don’t you go stealing my goodies curly.” He grunted playfully, tightening his arm around my waist. While the first joint had made me relaxed more than anything, this one seemed to create a weird kind of boldness and bravery, bringing out my cheeky side more than ever.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since we met Louis, stealing your goodies, but you just won’t let me!” I whined, biting my bottom lip to keep the giggle that was about to roll off my lips inside. He took me by surprise by his reply though. He leaned closer to my ear, letting his hot breath fan against my skin before he ran his tongue over my earlobe.

“That’s right curly, nobody steals my goodies, you can only deserve them.” His voice was low and husky, almost a whisper and it sent shivers down my spine.

I turned around on his lap, my chest pressed against his as our faces were only inches apart.

“Is that so, Louis? Now tell me, what do I have to do to deserve _your goodies?_ ” I tried to make it sound as seductive as I could manage, and from the look in his eyes, I did quite a good job at it too. He took another drag from the joint before he leaned in again, bringing his mouth next to my ear and breathing his reply.

“Play by the rules curly, and you’ll be rewarded.” His lips closed around my earlobe and he nibbled and sucked on it, making me moan as I felt my dick twitch in my boxers. He knew very well what effect he had on me, the smirk on his face worth a million when he leaned back to press the joint to my lips again. He winked and opened his mouth to say something else when we were both startled by the sound of a key being shoved into the front door lock. Niall really should do something about his sense of timing. I was too lazy and gutted to make the effort of turning around, so I was still lying in a rather compromising position in Louis’ lap when my best friend walked into the living room like he owned the place. Well, he did, in a way, but still.

He stopped dead in his tracks and blinked a couple of times as he found us on the couch. Louis was the first one to find his tongue back.

“Well hello handsome, I assume you’re Niall?” I couldn’t help but giggle at Niall’s baffled expression in reply to Louis’ charming ways.

“Uhm, yeah. Louis, I s’pose?” he finally replied when he regained the ability to walk, sitting down in the armchair as I scrambled up from Louis’ lap and sat up straight. Niall’s jaw dropped as he spotted the joint between my fingers. “Are you smoking Harry?” I nodded in reply, taking another drag so I felt the high increase again. “Holy fuck, I’ve been asking you to try it for years, and you know this guy for how long? A week? And he persuades you.”

I only shrugged, an idiotic grin plastered on my face before I started giggling at the reply forming in my mouth. “What can I say Niall, I want Louis’ goodies so bad!” Louis started giggling along with me, but Niall just blinked and gulped, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“Okay then…Uhm, well, lads, I’m quite exhausted from my weekend filled with goodies and I have classes to attend tomorrow, so I think I’m off to bed. And Harry, really, you’re wasted, you’d better go get some sleep as well.”

“Niaaaall, you’re not my dad, but you sure are acting like an old man. Did those two girls riding you exhaust you that badly huh?” I replied, still laughing violently.

He didn’t even bother to reply, just shook his head and walked towards his room, smashing the door closed behind him to shut our laughter out. I took the last drag from the joint, making Louis whine because he didn’t get it and put it out before I started laughing at my comeback to Niall’s sudden responsible behaviour again. I fell over to the side, Louis’ shaking body underneath me while we couldn’t seem to stop laughing for at least five more minutes. I puckered my lips, blowing out air between them to calm myself down and gulped when I looked up. Louis’face was so incredibly close all of a sudden. His lips were so red, his teeth so white as they dug into the sensitive flesh, and his eyes, oh god, his eyes. The blue was what I imagined heaven looked like. I crashed my lips on his and started kissing him feverishly, his tongue invading the warmth of my mouth in only seconds, dancing around with mine. My hand trailed up to his neck and started playing with his dishevelled hair. I felt his hips thrust up to meet mine, inviting me to grind down on him, which I gladly did. Muffled moans escaped from our kiss, filling the living room along with shattered breathing and rustling of very annoying items of clothing. My other hand reached out for the hem of his shirt, fumbling with it to get under it and feel his hot skin beneath my fingers. His hands were tangled in my hair, messing it up as his fingers scratched and massaged my scalp.

“Bedroom.”He breathed against my lips, pulling back only a millimetre before he attacked my lips yet again to continue our heated kiss. I sat up and moved my hands to his bum, pulling his body on top of mine so he could wrap his legs around my waist. I had a hard time walking straight, more from the passion than from the high I was still on and had to pause to lean him against the wall in the hallway to my bedroom, my hands on both sides of his head as I nearly snogged his face off. I pushed the doorknob down and kicked the door open, quickly walking to the bed where I threw him down on the mattress, flinging off my shirt as I watched him scramble up towards the headboard, unbuttoning his own shirt in the process. I sat down on my knees and crawled up to his frail body in a cat like manner, my teeth tugging on his bottom lip as I helped him out of his now unbuttoned shirt. He groaned and plunged his tongue into my mouth, engaging mine in a sloppy, hungry kiss as his hands found my bum, squeezing it as he pushed my body down on top of his. He locked his legs around my waist and started rocking his hips up against mine, our groins rubbing together in the most pleasurable way possible. I ran my teeth over his bottom lip as I started grinding down on him, very aware of the throbbing erection hidden in my jeans. I slipped one of my hands in between our bodies, reaching down for his crotch and palming his growing hard on through his pants, the fabric very unable to hide his excitement. He moaned loudly, surely Niall would have heard that, and arched his back to create more friction between his member and my hand through his pants. I squeezed it a little, making him whimper beneath me as he broke the kiss. I leaned down, my face grazing his neck as I started kissing down from his ear to his collarbone, leaving a wet trail as I licked and nibbled the skin. I ran my tongue over his collarbone, feeling him shiver as I started rubbing his hard on through his pants. I smirked against his shoulder as I squeezed again, making him buck his hips against my hand and bit down on his skin, sucking on it and licking, leaving a bright purple bruise that would surely be visible for at least a couple of days. I pulled myself up on hands and knees and noticed he was nothing but a writhing mess underneath me. I sat up and ran my hands from his beautiful face, a slight stubble gracing his cheeks, over his toned yet lean chest, down his abs, my fingers caressing the slightly raised belly that was heaving heavily with his breathing. I saw goosebumps rise in the wake of my feather light touches and leaned down for a quick peck on his lips before I sat back up and let my fingers search for the button of his jeans. I looked up at him to ask permission, but his eyes were closed, so I assumed he was fine with it. I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants before I pushed them down from his hips, revealing his tight black Topman boxers and his erection straining against the thin fabric. I crawled back so I could peel his jeans off his legs and threw them behind me on the floor before losing my own pants as well and draping my body over his. I still felt goosebumps arise everywhere I touched him, covering his arms as I ran my hands down them while I kissed him again. He whimpered as I linked my fingers with his, bringing his hands up over his head as I let go of his mouth and trailed kisses along his jaw, enjoying his pants next to my ear. I freed one hand from his and cupped him through his boxers, moving up and down as I felt his hard on grow even further in the process.

I experienced the entire thing still in a bit of a haze. Everything apart from the two of us seemed highly irrelevant, and it seemed that my senses were heightened. I heard him, saw him, felt him, smelled him and even tasted him so much more intense than ever before, and judging from his reactions, it was the same for him. I wasn’t sure if he had just let his guard down enough to allow this, or if he really felt I deserved this change in his rules by now, but I wasn’t planning on letting the opportunity slip.

I smiled down at his beautiful face and body as he kept arching his back and grinding our crotches together, my hand still in between them. My reaction was too slow as he moved his free hand down to grab mine, shoving it into his boxers in an almost violent way. He looked up at me from underneath his long and dark eyelashes, his blue eyes filled with lust and want. “Please, Harry.” He whispered, breathed almost and I felt my fingers wrapping around his shaft, almost on their own accord as I leaned down for another wet and sloppy kiss. He thrusted his hips into my hand, seeking desperately for more friction, more pleasure. I squeezed and stroked, changing pace and pressure until he was reduced to a whimpering mess beneath me. His moans and pants filled the entire room as he tensed up, arching his back and pressing his heels into the duvet.

“Oh, oh god Harry…” he managed to bring out.

“What is it Louis? What do you want?” I asked, stopping my movement, a whine escaping his lips in response.

“Don’t-don’t tease me Harry.” I chuckled. Here he was, mister game playing expert, the definition of teasing, asking me not to tease him. His eyes shot open and my stomach did a somersault at the heat that was radiating from them. “Please?” he added in a small voice.

“Ask me Louis, ask me nicely.” I breathed, my voice husky and deep.

“Let me finish, please, Harry.” I smirked and quickly got rid of his boxers, wanting to see him completely as I did this. It took no more than a few quick strokes, squeezing his length in the process before he let out a long, high pitched moan and started shaking violently, climaxing all over my hand and his own stomach. He looked all spent, so I let myself drop next to him on the bed, not expecting anything else tonight, besides, I was kind of getting used to being left all hot and bothered by him anyway.

Needless to say I was more than a little surprised when I suddenly felt him tugging on my boxers. I opened my eyes and was met by his blue ones only inches away from my face. He smiled sexily as he continued to take off the only piece of clothing that was still left on me, throwing it across the room to I don’t know where before he straddled me. He leaned down to kiss me, making me moan at the friction his hips caused against mine, and even more when his lips lost contact with mine, only to leave a moist trail of saliva down my jaw, all the way down my neck, licking the purple love bite he had left me yesterday before he licked along my collarbone, nibbling on it softly while he kept grinding his hips against mine the entire time.

I arched my back and moved my hips upwards, desperate to feel more of him, but however he was allowing me more than usual, he made it pretty clear that he was in control now. He looked up at me and smirked, holding my hips in place when he slid down on my legs, his mouth moving from my collarbone down to my chest, leaving butterfly kisses all over it, creating goosebumps and making me shiver. If he continued this I’d soon be nothing but a whimpering pile of frustration and lust. Before I was fully aware of it, he let his tongue swarm across my abdomen, caressing my abs before his teeth started tugging on the little hairs trailing down from my belly button.   
I honestly thought I’d lose it completely when his tongue flicked over the tip of my penis, only for a split seconds. I let out a high pitched wail, making him chuckle before he licked it all the way down to the base, stroking it with one finger at the same time. He was driving me crazy, this boy was going to be the death of me. He sat back up and winked sexily at me before bending over again and taking me into his mouth, entirely. Oh god!

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, feeling too overwhelmed to keep them open, but then decided I wanted to see him and opened my eyes again, watching him through my eyelashes. His head bopped up and down, his nose grazing my stomach when he reached down. He sucked and licked, bringing me closer to my climax with every move of his head. I bit my lip to stifle a moan as he swirled his tongue around the head again, the familiar heat in the pit of my stomach was already rising and I knew I wouldn’t last long now. He repeated his action and I groaned loudly. He pulled away and I whimpered at the loss of contact.

“Would you come for me Harry?” he whispered seductively and I couldn’t do anything else than nodd feverently.

“Say it Harry, say how much you want it.”

“Oh god Louis!” I shouted, jerking my hips up as I felt his hands close around my shaft. “I want to come!” the last words came out soundless, but I knew he heard it from the smirk on his face. He moved his hand up and down quickly while he pressed tiny kisses on my tip, licking it softly in between. I felt my muscles tense and it must’ve been obvious to him as well, because the thing that finally sent me over the edge was his whispered “Then come for me now Harry,”his lips brushing against the head as he spoke.

It was honestly the best orgasm I had ever experienced in my life, and I wasn’t entirely sure if that was due to the last remnants of the high I was on, to it being Louis or due to the sexual frustration he had caused me lately. But I was sure I was completely exhausted after this, and I gladly wrapped my arms around Louis’ small frame as he laid down next to me. He looked so vulnerable and small as he snuggled up to me, his nose buried in the crook of my neck, the covers pulled up over his ears. I didn’t want to get up to shut the orange light from the streets out, so I just shut my eyes and pressed a kiss to his forehead. I whispered a goodnight and thought he was asleep already, but I appeared to be wrong.

“Night curly,” he said softly before smacking his lips in the cutest way possible, making me drift to sleep with a smile on my face.


	7. Chapter Six

I woke up the next morning next to a naked, snoring Louis. His mouth was hanging open as his breathing came out steadily and memories from last night flashed through my mind. I remembered my fuzzy brain after smoking the joints Louis brought to my house, and how good they made me feel; but they didn't even compare to the pleasure Louis had given me. We hadn't gone all the way, or hit a homerun as he would say, but we went way farther then I was expecting. Whether it was his foggy state of mind or me finally "earning it" in his rule book, I didn't know, but I didn't really care. It felt so bloody good.

His hand was on my chest and his head rested on the side of my shoulder. It seemed so intimate having him lying next to me like this. Although our entire relationship may only consist of him messing with my head and could end at any moment, I felt something for him and enjoyed every minute we spent together. Maybe I could prolong Louis' little game long enough to completely forget my feelings for Niall.

I heard rattling in the kitchen and realised Niall must be awake. I would wait for Louis to wake up, but that seemed almost too boyfriend-y, so I slipped out from under the covers, making sure not to wake him up, and stepped into a pair of briefs to somewhat cover my naked body. I accidentally slammed the door behind me and hoped I didn't wake Louis up doing so.

"Hey big boy!" Niall shouted when I walked into the kitchen, flipping my messy curls to straighten out the mess a little bit. He winked at me and despite the fact that it was just a friendly, teasing wink, it made my stomach do a little flip. He popped his head out of the fridge to speak to me before reaching back in to pull out a carton of eggs and some ham to fry. "How you feeling?"

"Fine. What about you?" I mumbled, leaning against the counter next to the stove where Niall placed a frying pan, cracking two eggs onto it. "I'm amazing. I dreamed of Amber and Stacie riding me last night, moaning my name and letting me fuck them senseless. Nonetheless, I woke up with a hard on and started my morning fresh with a wank."

I groaned and rolled my eyes, sometimes hating how open Niall could be around me. I wouldn't dare tell him to stop talking about his one night stands with girls though. It might give too much away about how I feel. "God damn, Niall. You must have been good last night." I teased, sending him a wink. I pushed my body onto the kitchen counter, sitting on it and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Better then you could ever imagine. They were like putty in my hands. They did literally everything I asked them. I even got to watch them go at it with each other. Ugh, it was fucking hot." Niall was a slut. A dirty little man whore. He was cocky as well. He knew he was hot and could control women; it was like some strange power he had because girls literally threw themselves at him. I just shook my head and snickered at his words as he flipped one of the eggs with a platic spatula.

"What about you, Haz? You seemed to be having a good time when I walked in the door and you were high out of your fucking mind. Whatever happened to my innocent little boy? Staying away from drugs?" Niall teased because I had refused to smoke any illegal substances with him countless times in the past and he always made fun of me for it.

"Louis looked so fucking hot smoking I just couldn't refuse." I grinned, feeling turned on just by the image of the joint between his lips as he took in a drag. He was so sexy. Also, I kind of hoped Niall would feel a little jealous at my words despite the fact that he was straight as a pole.

"I don't look hot when I smoke Harry?" He pouted and pretended to grip his breaking heart. "I think it makes me look tough."

"Of course you look so sexy when you smoke, Ni." I replied, rolling my eyes. His scuffled laugh as he bent his neck back told me that he didn't take me seriously; which was good because I honestly did not think he looked hot when he smoked at all. Not like Louis.

"Thanks baby. You do too." Niall said in an adorable baby-like voice, squeezing my thigh. He was such a flirt, even when he wasn't trying. I slid off the counter to get away from his touch, knowing it drove me way crazier then it should.  "Did you get lucky last night buddy?"

I chuckled at his enthusiasm as he nearly shouted the words. I flushed bright red and looked away, avoiding his bright blue gaze that was watching me closely. "A little, yeah."

"A little?" Niall replied questioningly. "Dude, it sounded like you got more then a little lucky." I snorted out a few puffs of laughter and blushed even deeper, embarassed that he really had heard us last night. I knew we had been quite noisy, but I doubted he would really be able to hear us despite how thin our walls are. I guess I always managed to hear Niall when he brought some sluts home, so I should have known he'd hear the same on his end.

"Plus, you were both high as fuck and I always get horny when I'm high. Apparently you do too though _. I want Louis' goodies sooooo bad!"_ He immitated me, raising his voice to a girly pitch and bending over in laughter when my face dropped, realizing those were the exact words I had used in my mindless state last night. Oh God, how embarassing.

"He must have rocked you pretty good though." Niall muttered and I shook my head no. I would lie and say we fucked to feel the satisfaction of knowing he may or may not be jealous, but he always saw through my lies so there was no point in trying. "No, not yet. I'm working on that. He blew me though and it was so fucking magical." I growled, restraining a moan at the thought of Louis going down on me and the way his lips and tongue moved against my dick.

"Oh, I know it was. _Oh God, Louis. Louis you're so fucking good. Ugh, Louis."_ Niall teased again, grabbing my waist and pulling me forcefully towards him, our hips touching. He threw his head back, closed his eyes and made obsene sex noises. He wrapped his arms around my neck and grinded against me, pretending to be me. " _Oh Louis I want your big giant cock inside me, you're so hot. Just fuck me."_

I laughed as he continued grinding on me, but also ignored a couple dirty thoughts lingering in the back of my mind. I pushed him off of me moments later, cursing under my breath as he joined in on my laughter. I gasped at the sight of Louis walking into the kitchen though, wearing a clean pair of my briefs and the band tee shirt I wore the day we went to the park. He must have found them in my dresser. He looked hot standing in the doorway, wearing my clothing, and watching us with a quirked eyebrow.

"Good morning, Louis." I smiled and he returned a small one almost instantly before walking towards Niall and I. "Hey sweetheart," he whispered, placing a kiss on my lips. Niall cleared his throat and Louis pulled away, looking him up and down. "I don't believe we've properly met. I'm Louis."

Louis held his hand out and Niall shook it slowly, introducing himself as well. The tension between them was evident and I decided to try to ease it by interrupting the silence of the room. "Breakfest ready yet?" I asked Niall, pointing to the ham sizzling on the stove top.

"Almost. You and that fucking curly head of yours need to learn a thing or two about patience." Niall said, waving the spatula towards me.

"I agree." Louis added quietly, biting his lip, but I turned my attention to Niall and pointed a finger at him, trying to appear intimidating. "Shut up, Irish boy." I threatened him, holding back laughter as he told me to make him. I jumped off the counter and put him in a head lock, holding his head on my side as he giggled.

Louis watched and when I looked up I swore I saw something different in his eyes. Something closely resembling pain?

"Don't hurt me mate." Niall pleaded, and I let him go, smacking him gently on the cheek twice before he returned to the stove and took three plates out of the cupboard, placing food on each of them.

I felt two arms wrap around my waist as I watched Niall and gasped at Louis' touch, his soft lips pressing a kiss to the side of my neck as his chin rested on my shoulder. I leaned into his chest, but felt uncomfortable being so close to him in front of Niall. I turned my head towards his and he pecked my lips almost urgently. I turned around in his arms so that our chests were pressed together and he tightened his grip on  my waist, leaning up to kiss me. I turned my head away, giggling, because I didn't want to do this now. His lips brushed against my cheek instead and he groaned unhappily. "Later, Lou." I grumbled, pushing his chest forcefully with my hands until he let go.

"Why not now, baby?" He asked, cupping my cheeks with his hands and trying to lean in again but I did the same as before. "It's too early for this Lou." I said almost rudely, and felt bad for being mean but I really didn't want to do this now in front of my best mate. "It wasn't too early to mess around with Niall." Louis whispered almost inaudibly, chuckling, but I saw the strange glint in his eye and the unmistakable shake of his head.

"Hey, handsome." Louis said to Niall, using the nickname he had called him when they first met last night. "Don't worry about a third plate. It's time I head out anyways. Bye curly." He turned to me and pecked my cheek gently before going to my room to get the clothing I had stripped him of last night. Only a minute later, he walked by us again without another goodbye and headed out the door, leaving me wondering what could have possibly just went wrong.

I cringed when the door slammed shut and turned to Niall who watched me, confused. "Is it part of his plan to fuck you and then just leave?" Niall asked, even though we hadn't technically fucked.   
  
"I don't really know what's going on." I said, taking a seat at the dining table where Niall served me a platter. Louis had become so possessive and touchy all of a sudden and I didn't understand it. Usually, he'd just be patient and wait until we were alone, then snog me until I was begging for more. But not this time. He had been eager just for a kiss, and walked out claiming I had plenty of time to mess around with Niall. What did he mean? Was he jealous of me and my best mate? Yes, I had feelings for Niall but that shouldn't affect Louis and I's... well, whatever we were. Did Louis get these strange feelings like I did when we were together? Highly doubtable. He'd fuck me soon and toss me aside before moving onto the next.   
  
Of course, I couldn't just tell Niall that I thought Louis was jealous because then he'd need an explanation as to why he was jealous, hens why I was keeping it to myself.   
  
Usually, before Louis left, we planned our next rendez-vous. Now, I was left without a way to contact Louis and had no idea when I would see him next. I hoped maybe he'd come to our flat for a visit, but by the time Thursday rolled around, I still hadn't spoken to him.   
  
"Niall, I think he hates me." I whined, plopping down onto the couch next to him after dinner. "I don't know what I did but I fucked up. All he wanted was a kiss and I told him I wasn't in the mood."  
  
"He can't be holding a grudge just for that, Haz. You've got to speak to him. Are you sure you're just fuck buddies?" He took a sip of his beer, his legs propped up on the coffee table as he laid sloppily on the couch.   
  
"I don't know, Niall." I growled at him, sounding harsher than I had expected. I had no bloody clue what Louis and I were anymore.   
  
"Go find him." He muttered, pointing to the doorway. "Go do something about it instead of moping around here and taking your anger out on me." Niall's voice raised a bit as he rolled his eyes, flicking the channel with the television remote until he found the football game.   
  
"Fine. Don't wait up for me." I said, standing up and slipping on Niall's blue jumper that was laying on the couch. "Good luck," he mumbled more kindly this time and I thanked him, waving him goodbye.   
  
I tried the club first. It was the place we met, so I thought maybe he came here to relax despite the fact that it was the middle of the week. Did Louis have a job? Did he go to uni? I had no idea what he did throughout the week, but he wasn't here.   
  
My next intention was to check the park we went to about a week ago, knowing he liked to go there to think, but what were the odds of him being there. The walk to his apartment was nearer, so I decided to try there first. I had only been there once but I remembered the address clearly.   
  
I buzzed his apartment about fifteen minutes later, pulling the zipper up closer to my neck as the chilly air was leaving goosebumps on my skin. "Come on, Lou." I mumbled to myself, waiting for him to buzz back; hoping he was home.   
  
When the door made a long beeping noise and unlocked, I pulled it open, sighing happily. But now, stepping into the building and walking to his floor I felt nervous. What was I going to say? I should have planned this a little bit more. My hands felt clammy as I tip toed to his door, knocking on it gently as I held my breath.   
  
The rattling on the other end as he unlocked it made me clench my fists with nerves. When he opened the door, he glared at me with a blank expression. He looked me up and down quickly and I did the same to him. "Hi, Curly." He whispered, reaching out for my hand which I took gracefully as he led me into the apartment. "Wasn't expecting you."   
  
He closed the door behind us and bolted the lock, turning around to watch me again. Our fingers were still intertwined and his fumbled with mine, playing with them. "Where have you been?" I mumbled. "I missed you."  
  
With those words, I saw something change in Louis' eyes. They seemed to flicker from the cold, blank stare to anger and then to one of lust. The blue in his eyes was darker then usual as he stepped forward and pressed our chests together. "No you didn't."   
  
He closed the distance between our lips and tugged my bottom one between his teeth before running his tongue over it soothingly, slipping it in my mouth. Our tongues twisted and I sucked on his as he pulled away for a second before he crashed them back up to mine sloppily. "No you fucking didn't you lying bastard."   
  
He pulled away at his words, both of our breaths panting a little bit. His finger reached up to touch my bottom lip, tracing it and I had to force myself not to reach my tongue out and close my mouth around the finger to suck it.   
  
"If you missed me you would have called." He mumbled, keeping his bright blue eyes locked with mine, but they were becoming unreadable.   
  
"I don't have your-"   
  
"Phone book, Harry. It's a book full of phone numbers and I'm almost positive mine is in there somewhere. Plus, I'm sure you could have payed me a visit sooner then today if you really missed me." Louis' tone was steady, but his voice faltered on a few words. His hand was now on the back of my neck, playing with the hairs there as his other stayed interlocked with mine.   
  
"Louis, I would have but I didn't think you wanted to see me and-"   
  
"Shhh. I don't want to hear it. Your excuses are pathetic, just like you." He muttered, smiling almost sweetly after those harsh words. Somehow, the smile looked sincere.   
  
"Now, I want you to fuck me. Fuck me roughly. Pin my arms over my head and drive into me, but don't let me come. Moan my name but make me scream yours. Talk dirty to me. Tell me how good I am. Drive me crazy. Fuck me senseless with that giant cock of yours. Take advantage of me." Louis whispered into my ear so seductively I almost came in my pants just standing there. I felt my dick jerk at his words and began to feel hot when his tongue slipped over my earlobe, licking it slowly before whispering into it again. "Make me writhe under you. Make me your cock slut."

I moaned at his final words that nearly drove me to the edge as I grabbed his cheeks, bringing his lips to mine eagerly. Our tongues wasted no time to find each other and I felt myself getting excited quickly because this is what I had been waiting for. His fingers trailed down to my abdomen and he immediately tore my shirt off, tossing it onto the kitchen floor. I pushed his chest backwards until his bum hit the kitchen counter and I grabbed his thigh to push him onto it, spreading his legs open to stand between them. My hands ran up and down his thighs, purposely avoiding his hard on.

I didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I thought he would be mad or upset that I basically ignored him all week, but he wasn't. Instead, as soon as I walked in he decided it was the right time to have sex. That was completely unexpected but I couldn't refuse. His dirty, filthy words made me absolutely horny and I couldn't keep my hands or mouth off of his skin. But what had I done in his rule books to suddenly deserve this?

"Louis, I don't understand." I moaned as he sucked on my neck, engraving a nice purple love bite before smoothing over it with his soft tongue and trailing a line of saliva to my ear. "Don't talk, just fuck me Harry," he groaned and I fumbled with the bottom of his shirt before pushing him away slightly to pull it over his head. My hands quickly trailed over his chest, squeezing his nipples and then moved to feel between the creases of muscle on his back. He had such a nice lean body and it felt so good under my fingers.

He wrapped his legs around my waist and locked his ankles on my bum, pulling me closer so that our crotches were touching. His arms wrapped around my neck as he threw his head back and grinded into me, making a pornographic noise that almost had me whining in pleasure. "Louis, hold on tight," I whispered into his ear as I pulled him off the counter and carried him to the bedroom. He was so easy to carry around and I loved that about him. He was so small and fit perfectly in my arms.

"Are you ready to please me, sweetheart? I bet you're so good, darling. So so good." My stomach did a little unexplainable flip at his words. Maybe it was the adorable pet names he had gotten so used to calling me that were just pushing me to the edge at a time like this.

I stumbled a little bit as I walked and nearly smashed his back into the doorframe, muttering a quick apology into his ear before throwing him on the bed and climbing on top. I licked my lips at the sight of him under me, his Topman briegs popping out from under his tight jeans. "You're so beautiful." I whispered, and something flicked in his eyes as he shook his head back and forth. "No. Don't. Talk dirty to me instead."

Well, I thought he'd be flattered by the compliment but apparently he wanted none of those today. He was acting so strange and I couldn't put my finger on what was going on in his little head. The rules seemed to be completely different; like he was playing from a new rulebook tonight.

"Louis I'm going to fuck you so hard, but I'm not going to let you come until you're begging and pleading me to let you and I give you permission. If you come early, I will punish you and you will regret making that mistake." I leaned down to growl the words into his ear, and smiled in satisfaction at the low growl that formed in his throat. I reached for Louis' pants and unbuttoned them, slowly sliding them off of his legs but never breaking eye contact with him. Then I rid myself of my top layer as well before laying on top of him, our legs tangled, with nothing but my briefs. I grinded and shook my hips on top of him, loving the feeling of the friction against my hard dick. Louis' hands moved up to my curls, tugging on them roughly as I kissed his stomach, pulling the hairs underneath his bellybutton with my teeth. I moved down to his inner thighs, licking and sucking on them as Louis moaned my name. "Scream it." I whispered, knowing that's what he had told me to do - make him scream my name. "Scream my name, Louis."

When I whispered into his ear, he did as I told him, fisting large chunks of my curls in his hands and trembling beneath me as my tongue teasingly avoided his large hard on. "Stop teasing, curly." He hissed between clenched teeth and I moved my mouth away from his skin immediately, crawling up so that I was looking down directly into his eyes and pecking his lips gently, backing away when his tongue grazed my bottom lip.

"Harry, stop being a tease. That's my job." He murmured and I ground my hips against his again, getting even harder when his face contorted to one of pure pleasure. "Come on Harry just do it! Fuck me. Get it over with. Hit that homerun you've been begging for since day one." He said these words while staring directly into my eyes which appeared to be twisting into anger again for a reason I didn't understand. I was about to oblige, do exactly as he told me, but then it hit me.

_Once the ball is out of the park I guarantee you will never find it again._

Louis' words hit me like a ton of bricks and I realized what was going on. He was so eager all of a sudden, so hungry for this and now it all made sense. This was his way of saying goodbye. His way of finally ending things and getting our whatever we were over with. He was done with me, I suppose, and now it was his time to toss me aside.

"Stop, Lou." I said, pushing him away as he wrapped his arms around my neck and leaned up to kiss me feverishly, thrusting his hips up towards mine. It took all my strength to crawl off of him when he was in this state, sweat already beginning to form beads on his forehead and his chest raising and falling quickly as he caught his breath. When I got off of him, he sat up immediately and he looked hurt.

"What's wrong Harry? Isn't this what you wanted all along?" he said, watching me intently as I gathered my jeans off of the floor, slipping them back on and buttoning them up. My boner ached when I tucked it back behind the tight fabric, but I wasn't going to stay half naked in his bedroom right now.

"At first, yes. But I don't think that's what I want anymore." I mumbled, running a hand through my hair.

"Why not, Harry? Are you a virgin or something?" He said curiously, studying me. I told him that no, I wasn't, because I had in fact had sex before with both genders; my first time with a girl at fifteen. Then, throughout my next few teenage years I realized I liked boys and they pleased me much more, and I experienced being a top and bottom to a few different lads.

"Why are you afraid, then?" He said softly, that mysterious glint in his eyes again.

"I'm not afraid, Lou. I just don't want to do this." I spat out as I pulled my tee shirt back over my head. Louis crossed his legs, leaning his elbows onto is knees and resting his face in his hands. "Is that so, Harry? Why did you lose interest? Do I not appeal to you anymore? What if I was less controlling?"

No, I liked when Louis was in control. I liked it very much. And it was definitely not a loss of interest or appeal; he was still a piece of sex that I wanted to bang, but somehow he had become more then that and I wanted more then what he was offering me right now.

"No, Louis. It's not that!" I shouted, annoyed by his questions now that all I wanted to do was crawl into bed with him and cuddle him, but I knew I couldn't do that right now.

"Then what is it Harry?"

"I don't want to lose you!" I yelled, swinging my arms exasperately in the air and cursing myself out for admitting that. "I feel something, Lou. Something I can't explain yet. And I'm almost positive I'm not just in it for the sex anymore, but I know that once we do the deed you will be done with me, so I can't let that happen."

I swore I saw Louis' eyes moisten at my words, but I couldn't be certain with the lights off. He looked down at his fingers that were now fiddling in his lap, avoiding eye contact with me. "Louis, do you feel something?" I mumbled, walking towards him and grabbing his chin, forcing him to look me in the eye. "Please tell me I'm not the only one."

My words were a desperate whisper, almost impossible to hear even in the silence of the room. His bottom lip twitched, trembling slightly as he looked past me despite the fact that I wanted him to look into my eyes and see the sincerity of my words, and perhaps I'd see something special in his. Instead, all I got was a harsh voice that startled me from my thoughts.

"I think you should leave, Harry." He said, pushing my hand away. "Leave, please."

I felt a stinging in my chest at his words. They almost hurt more then when he left me day after day alone with a  burning problem in my trousers. Actually, they hurt a lot more then that. I waited, hoping he'd say something else, but when he didn't I nodded my head and left without even a goodbye. I guess it was my turn to leave without booking another rendez-vous, but I wasn't sure he'd be one to come find me anytime soon.


	8. Chapter Seven

I clenched my jaw and fists, letting my fingernails dig into my palms, waiting for the soft click of the door to let me know he was gone. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I hated it, I fucking hated it. How could I’ve let this happen? This wasn’t supposed to happen, I wasn’t supposed to care.

I grabbed a pillow and buried my face in it, screaming until my voice gave up and only a hoarse cracking came out. And then I cried some more, being reduced to a miserable pile of limbs under my duvet. I must’ve fallen asleep at some point and woke up to my alarm the next morning. Birds were singing outside my window and the sun was shining, as if the universe was mocking me. I called in sick at work, not even having to pretend since my voice still sounded as if I was a heavy smoker on a ventilator.

My day was spent in bed and on the couch, sulking and drowning in self pity as I watched daytime TV, read gossip magazines of which I didn’t even know why I had them and tried to get rid of the images of that curly boy in my head. It wasn’t very successful though.

My phone started ringing repeatedly around seven, my friends, probably to ask if I wanted to join them in their slutty clubbing party. I ignored the calls and finally switched off my phone as I got up to make me some dinner. I wasn’t hungry but I supposed I had to eat something, and at least it gave me something to do.

I’d gone to bed early and slept it off. Or more accurately: decided I would get over it. The image of Harry still popped up in my mind at times, but I ignored them and decided to go out. I went shopping and spent half my salary on things I didn’t need, but it felt good. I wanted those shoes, that shirt, those pants, these comic books and that new watch. I came home loaded with plastic and paper bags and a close to empty wallet and started to put all my new stuff away where it belonged before I realised I still hadn’t turned my phone back on. I pressed the sleek button on top and waited for the start up screen to tap in my pin code before I put the phone down on the arm rest of the sofa. I shoved a CD in the stereo and started to put my new CD’s, DVD’s, games and books away on the shelves and cleaned up a little while I was at it. My sister called but I wasn’t in the mood for it so I ignored it and was about to shout at my phone when it rang again, regretting I had turned it on in the first place when I noticed the caller ID.

“Yellow Chels!” I called as I picked up.

“Hey Lou! Finally, we thought you’d disappeared from the surface of the earth or something! Where were you yesterday?”

“Ill, but I’m all better now. What’s up?”

“It’s Saturday, that’s what’s up. Fancy a night out?”

I thought about it for a second but decided then I might as well resume my life as it had been before. I wasn’t going to let curly get to me. “Sure. See you at McLaren’s at 9, club after?”

“Sounds perf Lou, see you then.”

By the time I’d cooked myself some massively unhealthy dinner, took a shower and got dressed in some of my new clothes, I had successfully shoved all memories of Harry to the back of my head. Although I won’t deny that it crossed my mind a few times throughout the night that maybe Harry would come to the club we were at, and every single time that happened and his curly hair was still nowhere in sight, I downed another beer, leaving me completely plastered by the time they threw us out of the club.

Sunday was hangover-day, as usual, and on Monday I got back into my usual working routine. I was getting ready to watch the football on Thursday, gathering crisps and coke to make myself comfortable on the couch when the doorbell buzzed. I contemplated not opening, not really in the mood for company, but curiosity got the better of me, and somewhere in the back of my mind a small voice suggested that maybe it was Harry. After all, it was the exact same scenario as it had been last week. I buzzed the visitor in without even checking who it was, once they knew I was home it was too late to come up with an excuse to let them leave anyway.

A quick knock sounded from the other side of the door, shaking me out of my contemplation and I looked around for my keys to unlock it and finally see who was there.

I half expected to find his mop of curly hair on the other side, although I wasn’t exactly sure what to do or say if that would’ve been the case, and was a bit startled when I saw Niall standing in front of me.

“Hey. Found your address in the phone book. Can I come in?” He sounded serious, not really harsh but not exactly friendly either. I stepped aside and let him in, locking the door again behind me.

“Uhm, have a seat?” I suggested, unsure what he was here for.

“No thanks. Listen Louis. I’m not going to take much of your time, but I just have to do this. I don’t know what happened last week when Harry came here, and I don’t have to know. He refuses to tell me anything and I’m sure he has a good reason for it too. But please, fix whatever happened between you. He’s been a depressed mess all week and I’m fed up with it. I don’t care what you do about it, as long as he gets back to normal.”

“He’s been depressed?”

“Yes. Very. And that’s hardly a strong enough word to describe the state he’s in really. He hasn’t left the house once since he came home on Thursday night, I’m not even sure if he’s taken a shower more than once or twice. He just sits on the couch hugging his duvet and staring in front of him. So really, fix this, please.”

I hadn’t thought Harry would take it that badly, but I suppose I couldn’t exactly blame him. He’d been the one to open up and I had just asked him to leave. I bit the corner of my lip before I looked up at Niall and nodded. “Okay. Can I uhm…could you maybe give me his number? I don’t have it.”

Niall pulled out his phone and scribbled Harry’s number on a piece of paper that was laying around on my couch before he handed it to me and turned around to leave.“Thank you. Oh, and just so you know, Harry’s been my best mate for ages, so I’m doing this for him. I hate seeing him hurt, but if I know he’s hurt again, and it’s because of you, you won’t get away with it so easily. He’s a great guy and he doesn’t deserve shit like this.” He spoke as he paused and looked back at me.

I gulped and couldn’t bring anything out so I nodded as I watched him walk out of my apartment again.

I stared at the crumpled piece of paper for hours, but it wasn’t until late Friday night that I’d finally come up with something to say to him and I pressed the screen of my phone to call him.

“Hello?”his voice sounded low and husky, as if he hadn’t used it for a long time.

“Harry?”

“Yeah, who is this?”

“It’s… it’s me, Louis.” I stuttered, being met with a long silence on the other side of the phone.

“What do you want?” I hadn’t expected him to be nice and friendly, but I was still taken aback by the harshness in his tone.

“I- I was hoping you’d want to talk to me. In person, I mean. I want to clear some things up between us.”

He sighed into the phone and then fell silent again. I was about to ask if he was still there when he finally replied. “Sure Louis, whatever. Where and when?”

“The park? Tomorrow at two?”

“I’ll be there. Bring me a coffee.”

I smiled at his request and nodded, not fully realising he couldn’t see me through the phone.

“Yeah, okay. See you then.” I replied, feeling suddenly nervous at the idea of meeting him tomorrow.

“See you,”was all he said before disconnecting the call.

The weather was extraordinary warm for a day at the end of April. The sun was out and the park was packed with families when I arrived there. It wasn’t even half past one, and Harry’s coffee would probably be cold by the time he got to drink it, but I couldn’t stay inside any longer. I watched a couple of young kids laughing really loud while their dad pushed them on the swings. They were shouting about the butterflies in their bellies and kept on giggling while they pretended to fly. I smiled slightly before I tore my gaze away from them, looking around the park I had so many happy memories about, before everything got ruined. I shook the thought out of my head, this wasn’t the time nor the place to go there. I needed to focus on Harry. I had finished my own coffee by the time he showed up at two o’clock sharp. He looked even worse than I imagined after Niall’s description. There were dark circles under his eyes and his jaw was clenched before he forced a small smile as he sat down, accepting the coffee I handed him.

“Sorry, it might be cold but I’ve been here for a while, I’ll get you another one later.”

“’s fine.”He replied, sipping the cup but scrunching his nose up as he got it into his mouth. He turned around and poured the coffee on the ground behind the bench we were on. “Okay no, it’s not fine.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that and much to my relief he showed a genuine smile in reply.

“Listen Harry, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, maybe you don’t even want to see me, but I have to do this…” I started.

“How did you get my number? Yours might be in the phone book, but I’m pretty sure mine isn’t.” he interrupted.

I sighed.“Niall. He came by Thursday and told me to fix this.”

“Argh. I should’ve known. Look Louis, I get it okay, you were in this for the game, and now the game has ended, so this is goodbye.” He started rambling, his hands moving quickly as he spoke.

“No. No Harry you don’t get it.” I stopped him, putting my hand on top of his. “You don’t get it at all.” I bit my lip and closed my eyes for a second before I continued, unable to look him in the eyes and instead looking awkwardly at his knees. “Even I don’t get it. All I know is… This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be another walk in the park. I’d go around teasing you, we’d eventually fuck and then we’d both go our own ways. But along the way, something happened. I’m not even sure what it was or what it is, but it ruined the plan.” I took a breath and wished I still had a coffee so I could take a sip while I thought of what I’d say next. I rubbed my face before I continued.“It got me hurt in a way, which is why I wanted you to fuck me last week. It would’ve given me an excuse to follow at least that part of the plan where I could walk away after that. But you caught me there, and pretty much declared your undying love for me.” I smirked at the last bit, looking up to be met with Harry’s look of disbelief.

“I did not declare my undying love for you! You make me sound really pathetic now!” he protested, making me chuckle.

“Yeah, we both know what you said. And… Over the past week I realised I don’t want to lose you either Harry. But I’m pretty sure I can’t offer you what you’re looking for. I can’t be a loving boyfriend, I can’t replace Niall in your heart, because yes, it is very obvious that he owns a big part of your heart. To me at least. The guy himself is probably completely oblivious to it. So I understand if you change your mind and want to walk away now. Maybe I’ll see you around somewhere but we can just wave and have small talk as if we met in the supermarket.” I stopped, looking down to my fumbling hands in my lap as I waited for him to leave, because why would he want to stay?

“What about being friends?” he asked suddenly, his low voice cutting through the silence that had fallen over the park. My head shot up and I felt my eyes prickling as they met with his bright green ones.

“Friends?”was all I could bring out.

“Yeah you know, that kind of relationship where you hang out together without any romantic or physical feelings? Where you just have fun and the occasional emotional talk? But I suppose we’ve got the emotional talk covered for the next two or three years after this.” He winked, chuckling slightly.

“Uhm. Yeah. Okay. I wasn’t expecting that, but it sounds good, I suppose. Friends.” I grinned as I extended my hand for him to shake. Right after that, it became clear why the park had suddenly gone so quiet and left. I hadn’t even noticed but the skies had gone dark and where it were only a few scattered drops at first, it looked like it would quickly turn into that typical British pouring rain. We both looked up at the sky and then back at each other.

“I say now would be a good time for you to make up for that cold coffee.” Harry offered and I got up, still holding his hand in mine and started running towards the exit of the park. We were both completely soaked by the now pouring rain by the time we were back on the street, so I suggested going back to mine so we could change in some dry clothes, it was the closest to here as well.

It was a pleasant feeling, his hand in mine, fingers intertwined. In fact, so pleasant we were still holding hands by the time we arrived at my front door, only letting go so I could try and get my keys out of my pocket. I let us in and told Harry to go to my bedroom while I locked the door behind us. I made a small detour to the kitchen to get the coffee fixed and walked towards the bedroom, not at all expecting to see what I saw.

Harry had already taken off his white V-neck shirt and black skinny jeans and was now rummaging through my drawer to find dry clothes, his back to the door so he hadn’t seen me. I gulped at the sight in front of me, Harry in only his black briefs, bent over to get a good look in my drawer. Fucking hell, why was he so damn sexy?

The door slammed closed behind me and he looked up at the sound.

“Oh! Hey! I was looking for a shirt.” He explained, apparently not aware of what he caused by walking around pretty much naked.

I pointed at the wardrobe on the other side of the room. “There, on the right side.” I muttered, trying to distract myself by taking off my wet shirt and unbuttoning my pants, stepping out of my soaked shoes as I pulled my pants down.

I gulped once more as I stood up straight again, Harry had been on his way to the wardrobe but didn’t exactly get there. He was standing no more than a foot away from me, his eyes trained on mine, and I could see the same emotions swarming there as the ones I felt in my stomach. I don’t know who started it, but before I fully processed the entire situation, my lips were pressed tightly against his, my arms around his neck and his around my waist, travelling up and down my bare back, sending shivers all over my spine. My tongue plunged into his mouth, almost on its own accord and started playing around with his, devouring every inch of his mouth, evoking moans from both of us. I had a hard time telling which sound came from who’s mouth, but it didn’t exactly matter much. My fingers buried themselves in Harry’s still dripping wet hair, pulling on it slightly as he stumbled backwards towards my bed. It wasn’t until I landed on top of him that I opened my eyes, realising what was happening. Judging from the way he tried to adjust his briefs, I wasn’t the only one who had gotten more than a bit excited by our heated make out session. I coughed awkwardly and wiped my damp hair out of my face with my hand, sitting up straight on the edge of the bed, my back turned to Harry who was still in the middle of the mattress.

“Looks like we’re having a hard time not to do that physical stuff though,” he remarked quietly after a minute or so of awkward silence.

“Yeah… I guess.” I got up to find dry clothes and tossed a pair of sweats and a shirt his way before I got changed myself.

“Friend with benefits could work though?” it came out more as a question than as a statement, but I grinned at him as I turned around to face him.

“Yeah, that could work. Coffee?” I replied.

“Yes, please!” he chuckled, pulling the strings on the sweatpants to prevent them from falling off his slim hips. It was a rather funny sight, the legs were at least two inches short, so I showed him where the dryer was so he could put his clothes in while we had coffee.


	9. Chapter Eight

November rolled around and I found myself at Louis' house again. It was a place that had become like a second home to me considering I spent so much time here over the past seven months. I slept over a lot, and Louis occasionally stayed at mine and Niall's place, but we agreed it was better to not bother him too much.

Louis and I were still friends with benefits, no matter how much I had wanted more. I was slowly starting to get over my feelings for him because I realized they would probably never be mutual. I started dating another guy in August, but that didn't work out. I really liked him, but no matter where or when we were together, I always thought of Louis and how much I wanted to be kissing him instead of Liam. In fact, nearly every night I was available I did find myself kissing Louis instead, and that was the problem. It was so hard to stay faithful, and Louis tried to stop me from cheating, but I was just so eager to feel Louis' lips all over my skin and hear his ragged breath as we kissed.

Louis and I's relationship was simple. We never argued, we never really talked about our personal lives, and we both understood we were merely using each other for fun. Although we had grown genuinely fond of each other, we were just two best mates that knew the difference between love and lust - or tried to.

"So I suppose you ended things with Liam on a good note?" Louis said between feverish kisses as we both lay half naked on his bed, his body on top of mine and we were both stripped of our tee shirts. His bare chest had a thin layer of sweat as it pressed against mine, his lips attacking my swollen ones. His hands were on either side of my head, supporting him.

"Yeah..." I sighed, biting my lip to supress a moan as he attacked my sweet spot, right below my right ear. My hands trailed down his back to reach inside the back of his pants, squeezing his bum. "I took him out for a coffee yesterday and told him I wasn't actually gay."

Louis chuckled against my skin, and I let out a short sputter of laughter as well. He leaned up so that he was hovering above my head, looking me in the eyes. "You didn't actually say that?" He gasped, his mouth hanging open.

"No, I'm kidding. I told him I wasn't ready for a serious relationship. I failed to mention that it was because I wound up at your apartment every night after I left him." I snickered, reaching up to grab the back of Louis' neck, lifting by back off the bed to meet his lips half way as I pulled him back down to me. His hips grinded down against mine and I moaned, feeling how excited he was.

Louis kissed my chest, sucking my nipples and swirling his tongue around them, then trailed his way to my ear and nipped on it eagerly. "Let's go to the club. I feel like dancing and getting shitfaced."

I pulled away from his lips and smiled at him, nodding my head because I couldn't possibly refuse to see Louis shake his hips sensually to the sound of the heavy bass. I mumbled in agreement and pushed him off of me, both of us crawling off of the bed to collect our shirts off the ground. I ran my fingers through my sweaty curls, but couldn't be bothered to brush them before going out. Louis liked them messy, anyways.

"Ready to go darling?" Louis asked, collecting his keys and a few crumpled bills off of his dresser. I nodded and slipped on my brown winter jacket, grabbing one of Louis' grey beanies from his closet without asking permission. I borrowed his things all the time; he never minded.

"Yeah, I've just got to find my wallet. I left it here two nights ago and just remembered." I mumbled, glancing around the apartment for my black leather wallet.

 

"I'll go warm up the car. The wallet's on my bedside table." He said before walking out the door.

\---

 

The club was a regular hang out spot for Louis and I. It was significant because it was the place we first met, and every time we visited we just seemed to be closer than the last. Lots of people knew us and we recognized a few familiar faces, but neither of us ever really bothered to memorize names or anything with them.

Louis' bum currently grinded against my crotch and his back was pressed to my chest, his head thrown back on my shoulder. My hands gripped his waist tightly and we both moved our hips to the beat of the music. Occasionally, he'd add an extra swirl to his or reach behind his shoulder to tease by touching my curls or my face - driving me absolutely crazy.

A new Rihanna song played loudly and Louis turned around in my arms, singing the words I didn't know with a huge grin on his face and crinkles on the corners of his eyes. How did he manage to be sexy and absolutely adorable at the same time?

His arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer to him and I moved my hands down to his bum, squeezing it gently, not bothered that we were in public. His lips found mine in an open mouthed kiss and our tongues met immediately, battling for dominance. He won when I gave up and titled my head a little, giving him better access as his tongue explored my mouth.

"Would you like a drink, Curly?" Louis asked. Even after seven months, the nickname was still used frequently. It had become a permanent part of Louis' vocabulary. Even Niall called me that once and a while, but I just glared at him when he did because that was Louis' nickname, not his.

"Sure. Just get me a beer." I said, leaning down to peck Louis' lips one last time before he strutted towards the bar. There was a new bar tender since that day we met, this time a female no older than twenty who was just working nights to raise money for university. Well, that's what she had told me the day she flirted with me, but all I did was try to ignore her because I was not interested in the least.

I found myself alone on the dance floor, but recognized a few people around me. I was quite shy, unlike Louis, and didn't have the courage to just dance with the nearest crowd like he did. I stood awkwardly waiting, and wished I had followed him but now it was too late as I had already lost him in the crowd.

A firm grip on my waist startled me and I squealed, turning around to face the stranger that had grabbed me. It was a handsome man, a little shorter then me, with dark skin and a hair styled up ina way that made his hair look fluffy and pettable. His brown eyes were dark as he stared at me, a crooked smirk on his face.

"Hello," he mumbled, biting his lip as his hands kept a firm grip on my waist. His breath smelled of alcohol but his eyes were captivating.

"I see you around here a lot," he stated. "And I see you with him."

He pointed a finger the direction Louis had just walked and I glanced over my shoulder instinctively.

"Is that right?" I mumbled, feeling my lips pull into a little bit of a smirk as I noticed his eyes burning with lust. This guy was drunk and horny.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the boy holding me slurred.

"No, he's not." Although I sometimes wished he was, he wasn't. We didn't have anything special; Louis didn't feel anything special. We were just friend. Friends with special benefits that still meant nothing, despite how badly I wanted it to.

"Well then he wouldn't mind if we dance, right?" The boy leaned up to whisper into my ear with a husky voice. A cheeky smile found it's way on my face and I didn't miss the wink he sent me when he pulled away.

"No, I don't think so."

Instantly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me closer, our groins rubbing together as we moved to the music. I was enjoying my self, nonetheless. It helped me forget about Louis and even about Niall for a little while, especially when the boy grinding on me started kissing my neck. He nipped and sucked at the skin then grazed his tongue over the bruises he was leaving. I tilted my head back, giving him more access to the skin. I moaned when he hit my sweet spot, tightening my hold on his neck.

When he pulled away from my neck to look me in the eyes, he winked again and I couldn't help but notice him lick his lips, instantly making me crave more of them. I leaned down, crashing mine against his and instantly our tongues met in a sloppy, unpassionate kiss that screamed nothing but eagerness and lust. Our teeth clashed occasionally and he moaned when I sucked on his tongue as he pulled back, instantly meeting my lips again in another heated kiss.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, both of us gasping for air and my hands found my way to his hair; the hair I had been so eager to touch. It was soft and a little tangled but nothing like-

"Curly!" I heard someone shout behind me, instantly recognizing the voice. I pulled away from the stranger, his teeth pulling on my bottom lip when I leaned back to try to stop me from leaving. He let out a soft whine when my lips left his and I turned around, spotting the boy I had grown so fond of.

"I have your beer, sweetheart." Louis said innocently, holding it in front of him until I let go of the boy in my arms and took it from him. "Who's your friend?"

Louis raised an eyebrow, nodding his chin to the man next to me who now shifted awkwardly, his hands buried in the pocket of his dark skinny jeans. Louis eyed him curiously, and I recognized that same glint in his eyes as the one I saw in my kitchen, the morning after his first overnight stay. Jealousy.

"Zayn," he replied to Louis, avoiding his vicious gaze.

"Well, Zayn." Louis spat his name, stepping forward until he stood before him, forcing a smile. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'd have to refrain from clapping you in the jaw for stealing my Curly away from me."

Louis patted him on the shoulder, winking as wrapped an arm around my waist. "He's here with me, so I suggest you leave."

Zayn's jaw dropped and he couldn't find the words to say. He raised his hands protectively, taking a step back and glaring at me. "I thought you said he wasn't your boyfriend. Jesus."

With that, he shook his head and dissapeared in the crowd, his fluffy mess of hair immediately forgotten as Louis gripped my waist tightly with one hand and pulled me against him. "I leave you for one bleeding minute and you replace me already. You little slut."

Louis' teeth tugged on my air, licking my earlobe. "I guess it didn't take you much to get over Liam now, did it?"

I shook my head at his words, realizing I never really felt anything for Liam. He was just a guy I hoped would help me get over Niall and Louis, but it didn't work at all. Forgetting Liam was extremely easy though, and so was forgetting Zayn. For some reason, the other two boys' were almost constantly on my mind.

"Let's go to mine. Spend the night." I mumbled, running my hand down his arm to intertwine our fingers.

"Fine. But you've certainly got to make this up to me."

\----------

"Jealousy makes you frisky." I teased as Louis pushed me against my apartment door, immediately pinning his body on mine. His breath was hot as it hit my lips, only a short distacne from his.

"I'm not even jealous, baby." Louis winked, leaning in to grab my bottom lip and tug on it gently, receiving a moan in response. He grinded his hips against mine, his breathing already getting heavier. "But jealousy is a wonderful thing."

"Jump." I mumbled into his ear and he did as he was told, wrapping his short legs around my waist and just resting his forehead against mine as I carried him to the couch, throwing him down and climbing on top, one knee between his two. Our lips connected almost immediately as he sat up a bit to close the distance, pulling me down with him as he lay his head back on the couch. I moved my hands slowly from his shoulder blade down to his hands, intertwining our fingers and then dragging his above his head, pinning them there.

I shook my hips to feel the friction of our hard ons. I let go of his hands and sat up straight for a minute to pull my tee shirt over my head, flinging it beside the couch somewhere. Louis' eyes grew wide as they always did when he took in the sight of my bare body. I always felt a little flattered, and almost loved, when he did that.

He moved his hands to reach up, but I met them halfway and pinned them back above his head. "No touching." I grumbled, leaning down to press my lips to his, smiling against them when he whined in my mouth.

Louis' teasing hadn't diminished at all since we first met, but now I had learned to play the game by my own rules occasionally; particularly when Louis was like jello in my fingers and squirming underneath me with lust blown eyes.

"Baby," Louis moaned, closing his eyes when I ran my fingers through his hair, practically purring.

"Yeah, Lou?" I caught my breath as I hovered above him, continuing to fiddle with his hair. The hair that was much softer and much more appealing then Zayn's. Perhaps it was just everything about this boy that was special, though.

"I have a plan. To help you." He smiled up at me, his eyes peeking below his dark eyelashes.

"What's that boo?"

"We can work together to... to make Niall jealous." Louis said, and I shook my head, pushing the thought of Niall away because right now it was just Louis and I.

"Just shutup and kiss me, Lou." I groaned, meeting his lips in a feverish kiss, certainly not in the mood to discuss the blond boy that still managed to cloud my thoughts more often then necessary.We continued like this for quite a while, losing track of time as we grinded our hips against each other and ridded ourselves of more articles of clothing until we were merely in our underwear, until Louis started laughing and just couldn'tseem to stop.

"What is so funny, Lou?" I said, grinning at the sight of his crinkled eyes and his head thrown back on the cushion.

"We can't even go a fucking day without being half naked somewhere together."

I choked out a sputter of laughter, realizing the sad truth behind his words. We really were just lust ridden, hormonic young adults, weren't we?

"But you don't mind, right?" I winked, leaning down to lick a strip of saliva from his neck to his ear love, whispering seductively into it. "Cause I sure as hell don't."

"Not at all. But I'm quite exhausted right now, to be honest." He mumbled, and I agreed, but I still couldn't ignore the throbbing pain behind the small piece of material left on my body.

"Let's just get rid of these, then head to bed, yeah?" Louis chuckled, referring to both of our boners. I took him to the bedroom, where we eventually wound up falling asleep in each others arms, the sound of his steady heartbeat pounding in my ear as my head rested on his chest.

\----------------

After sharing a nice breakfast the following morning and lending Louis a clean pair of clothes, he was shrugging his jacket on and getting ready to head home. This was a normal ritual. Louis never lingered longer then necessary in the mornings. He was usually gone before Niall woke up. I thought about last night as we stood near the doorway, and remembered Louis' words about wanting to help me.

"Hey, Lou. What was that you said last night about Niall?" I asked, stroking his cheek as I leaned on the counter beside us.

"I want to help you get him. You're a wonderful guy, Harry, and Niall's doing nothing but labelling himself as straight. I think if we act it up around him all the time, play the touchy boyfriends, he might realise he has feelings for you. It's a long shot, but I think we could give it a go. Then you'll find out if Blondie is really worth your time."

Louis' plan sounded absolutely ridiculous. It would be obvious to Niall considering for the past half a year we had avoided being caught doing anything obscene around him. Now, if we boost our PDA to always be around him, he'd know something was up.

"I don't know..." I trailed off, looking at the ground.

"Just think about it, yeah? If you don't want to, that's alright. Either way we still get to snog for a while longer." Louis said, and his words scared me. A while longer? Only a while? The realisation that someday I could lose Louis hurt, and maybe playing this little jealousy game would keep him longer then he planned on sticking around.

"Alright." I mumbled.

"Anyways, I'm taking you out tonight. I have an extra ticket to a banquet for my work, and I'd love to have you tag along sweetheart. Keep me company." He smiled, looking up into my green eyes and I returned it, my dimples appearing.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I teased, flicking his nose playfully.

"Well, I know you're dying to see me in a nice blazer and braces, so I don't think you'd be capable of refusing anyways."

"And dress pants that fit tightly around your perfect little arse." I finished, sending him a wink. He snickered and turned to the door, leaning towards me with puckered lips for a kiss goodbye.

"Be ready by six. Dress formally." Louis shouted over his shoulder, strutting away to the stairs at the end of the hall.


	10. Chapter Nine

Niall strolled into the living room, mumbling a good morning while I was cleaning up around the couch, retrieving the items of clothing that had gone lost yesterday evening in the mean time.

“Hey Ni, had a good night?” I asked as I followed him into the kitchen, jumping up onto the counter as he grabbed a left over piece of toast.

He snorted. “Yeah at least you and Louis quit the moaning at a reasonable time for once. Seriously Harry, soundproof your room or something.”

“You're not one to speak Niall, you don't want to know how many times I've been woken up by girls' voices screaming out your name. Or some other things I'm not going to repeat because I don't fancy seeing my breakfast again.” I retorted, my eyes fixed on his face and one eyebrow raised.

A crooked grin took over his face. “Okay, fair enough. Did you leave anything else for breakfast or does little Niall have to make his own again?”

I rolled my eyes and jumped off the counter, grabbing the frying pan and some eggs and sausages from the fridge. “Lazy ass.”

“Oh Harryboo, you know you love me!” He cooed. I cringed inwardly at his words and put on a smile, like I had done ever since we were 15. The only thing missing was him pinching my cheeks with that crazy look on his face. Oh wait scratch that, there you have it. I batted his hand away and started cooking his breakfast while he leaned on the counter behind me.

“But tell me Harry, what _is_ going on with you and Louis? I mean, you dumped that other guy, Liam? For him, right? What are you? Fuck buddies? Boyfriends?”

“Why do you even care Niall?” I groaned, flipping his sausages around.

“Because. I just... it's just weird Harry. This has been going on for months, and I'm just worried that you want more out of this and he's playing you around.”

“Well stop worrying Niall, I'm no kid, I don't need a mother to warn me for the big evil men outside.” I felt aggravated all of a sudden and Niall sensed it, he shut his mouth and just waited while I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and put his eggs and sausages on it before I shoved it onto the counter next to him. “Here's your breakfast.”I mumbled and started to walk out.

“Harry...”he started but I turned around and cut him off.

“We're going out on a date tonight Niall, so you can stop worrying now, okay?” I said sternly before turning back and walking to my room. I fell down on my chair, my elbows leaning on my desk as I groaned loudly. I suppose I had decided to play along in yet another one of Louis' games, and I wasn't sure if I'd get out of this one unharmed and as easily as before.

I tried to do some work for school but I found it hard to concentrate. Partly because of Niall, he had come knocking on my bedroom door to apologize but I hadn't let him in. I needed to think about this whole mess. The other part was Louis. Maybe Niall was right, maybe I still wanted more from this... _situation_ than Louis. And why did the idea that he would move on sooner or later hurt me so much? I honestly couldn't expect him to stick around and be my fuckbuddy, or friend with benefits, whatever term you prefer, and deny all relationship-offers, right? And yet again, I didn't mind denying mine. Or well, breaking them off because I just couldn't keep my mind off Louis and Niall long enough. In the end I just slammed my books closed and took a long hot shower, trying to clear my mind and just focus on our 'date' tonight. I had blowdried my curls, shaved and pulled on my best suit when the doorbell sounded. I was just fixing my hair, opting to style them properly for once, as I wasn't entirely sure just how formal the occasion would be, and wanted to go out to meet him at the door when a short knock sounded on my bedroom door and he walked in like he owned the place.

I turned around and smiled at his face. He had that incredibly sexy half smile on his face and his eyebrows were raised as his eyes had grown wide. He whistled softly as he looked me up and down.

“Niall told me we're going on a date?” he questioned after 30 seconds of silence. “I take it that you're up for my plan?” I shrugged, still not sure if I was really up for it, but if it meant the certainty that Louis would stick around for a little longer, then sure, I would go for it. “Well if you're going to dress up like this for every date we go on, I'm feeling sorry that I didn't ask you out on one earlier,” he winked.

I smirked at him. “I knew that this was only an excuse to see how delicious I look in a formal suit.”

“Got me there curly.” he winked before he linked his arm with mine and pulled me out the door with him. He drove his car here, a small but classy silver audi and he juggled his keys on the way there, zapping the doors open so I could get in the passenger seat while he walked around to take the driver's seat. I turned around a bit so I could look at him while he drove, and I had to admit he did indeed look pretty sharp today. It wasn't a long drive and neither of us felt the need to fill the silence.

Once we arrived, Louis handed his invitation to the receptionist and we were informed that there would be speeches and a reception first, and the actual banquet would start after that.

 

Louis stood awkwardly next to me, our hands brushing slightly while we listened, or pretended to listen, to endless speeches. The longer we were here, the more I started to believe that he really only wanted me to come to have a chance to see me in a formal suit. This was more boring than my high school graduation had been, and I can assure you most of the students had fallen asleep by the end of it back then. Louis flashed a fake smile at a waiter passing by us, grabbing a glass of champagne from his tray and throwing it back in one go.

“Are you as bored as I am?” he muttered under his breath, causing me to chuckle.

“Hell yeah.” I locked eyes with him and saw that very familiar mischievous glint shining in his blue irises.

“Let's make things more interesting then, shall we curly?” he winked, still talking under his breath so the people around us who were listening to the man in the front wouldn't hear us. He grabbed my hand, his fingers lacing through mine like it was their natural habitat now, and pulled me towards the door, into the hallway and towards the left. He stopped at the men's room and looked around to see if anyone else was near before he pushed the door open, making it swing on its hinges and it would have slammed against the wall if he wouldn't have caught it on time. He quickly checked if anyone else was there, and I noticed all stall doors were indeed unlocked before he grabbed my vest on both sides and pushed me against the wall.

We giggled like 16 year olds when I ended up at the hand dryer that started blowing hot air down my back as soon as I hit it but his eyes soon darkened again as he gripped my blazer and moved me a bit to the side. Louis pressed his body close to mine, making me very much aware of his level of excitement as he involved my lips in a fierce attack, tugging, kissing, sucking and nibbling on them. He swallowed my moans and I wanted nothing more than to return the pleasure. I slipped my hands under his blazer and pushed it off his shoulders, leaving him in his crisp white button up shirt, and much to my surprise, a pair of thin black braces.

He shrugged the blazer off and threw it on the counter where the sinks were before his hands went on a journey underneath my own blazer. He tugged on my shirt in the back so it slipped out of my pants, and I felt the feathery touches of his fingertips on the bare skin of my back. I moaned loudly as I curled my fingers around his braces, using them to pull him even closer to me. We were both panting when he finally pulled back, out of breath from the snog. I smirked as my fingers pinched his sensitive nipples through his shirt, letting the elastic fabric of his braces brush over them when they were hard and pointy from my touches. He moaned from the back of his throat, and it drove me wild. I pulled him against me, still holding on to his braces and took advantage of his temporary imbalance to push him against one of the stall doors, taking a step so I could press my body against his and attack his lips and neck. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken the fact that the stall door was unlocked into account, making Louis stumble backwards as it flew open. I barely managed to keep him standing and pressed him to the side of the cubicle instead, throwing the door closed behind us before I continued my journey on his body.

I buried my face into his neck and pressed small teasing kisses on the skin, where I still found some fading bruises from an earlier occasion. I nibbled on his collarbone and let my tongue out to soothe the bite marks. Louis was panting hard by now, and I decided to be bold, letting one of my hands wander down his chest. My finger hooked behind the waistband of his pants and I could hear him gasp against my ear as I bit down forcefully on his shoulder, his shirt unbuttoned halfway down and hanging slightly off his shoulders, in spite of his braces. I smiled against his skin and let my hand trail further down, his hard on very obvious through the thin fabric of his dress pants. I scraped my nails over it's contour, evoking a groan and a sharp intake of breath from him. His hands moved from my waist to the back of my head and I felt a tug on my curls, forcing me to pull back a little so he could kiss me. His hands roamed around in my hair, his nails scraping over my scalp. I moaned loudly at the glorious feeling, making Louis shush me before he continued the kiss, our tongues rubbing against each other in a playful fight of lust. I decided to stop the nailscraping over his crotch and cupped his penis. He had dropped his rules a long time ago, however we still didn't fuck, and we were pretty familiar with what was hidden behind the fabric of briefs and pants, but he deserved some sweet teasing in revenge for all the teasing he had put me through these last few weeks. He moaned as I applied more pressure to his growing erection, panting hard into the kiss that turned sloppier with every minute. I groped him fully now, moving my hand up and down so he'd feel the exact right amount of pressure to drive him crazy.

“Fuck Harry.” he breathed and I smiled against his lips before I scraped my teeth against his bottom lip.

Suddenly, I heard laughter coming from outside and the door squeaked open slightly, letting the voices seep into the bathroom. I pulled away and fixed my clothes, dashing out of the cubicle in seconds, grabbing Louis' blazer from the counter as I shot half a smile to the middle aged men that walked in to the bathroom. They were talking amongst each other and didn't seem to notice my disheveled hair or flushed face. A minute later, I heard a toilet flush and Louis came out of the cubicle, his shirt buttoned up again, a fresh purple bruise partially hidden under his collar and one of his braces twisted on the back. I glanced down and smirked at his still very obvious boner, glad I could hide mine under my now buttoned up blazer. I handed him his and waited for the other man to get into their stalls to fix his braces and shirt, kissing him softly on the lips before I pulled back.

“How does teasing feel now, Louis?” I whispered next to his ear before I turned towards the counter and started washing my hands as if nothing had ever happened. I dried them and shot him a wink as I pushed the door open, not waiting for him to join me before I walked back into the reception hall.

Soon after, I felt his warm body against mine, his erection pressing against my bum as he leaned in before he walked past. “Fuck you Harry.” he whispered before he joined me, his hands deep inside his pockets, pushing the fabric forwards so his erection wouldn't be as noticeable., pretending to listen to yet another speech. I smirked at him, but waited to reply until a lady announced that we were expected at the table. “Later maybe, Louis.”

He glared at me as we walked towards our table, we were sat with a couple of Louis' colleagues, and even after an entire evening of conversation I wasn't able to grasp what it was exactly that he did for a living. But maybe the endless teasing still going on underneath the table had something to do with that. I didn't get how he could remain so composed while his hand was massaging my crotch and mine was fumbling with his zipper, but he acted as if nothing was going on, although we both were very lucky we were served at the table and it wasn't some kind of buffet.

Louis obviously thought it appropriate to excuse us around 11pm, the air between us in the car filled with sexual tension. “We're back at mine?” I questioned as he parked the car. We normally ended up at his, not to bother Niall to much and we never spent more than one night in a row at mine for the same reason.

“We're not going to make Niall jealous if he doesn't see us spending the night and enjoying breakfast together, right curly?” he smirked and got out of the car, walking around to open my door when I still hadn't gotten out when he arrived there. “Come on, I don't want stains on the car seats curly.”

I chuckled and grabbed the hand he held out for me, our fingers intertwining as we made our way upstairs. I unlocked the door and didn't give him time to do anything before I pulled him into my room, kicking the door shut behind me and pushing him on the bed before I crawled over him, straddling his hips as I attacked his lips.

His lips caught mine in a heated kiss, teeth clanking, tongues rubbing and lips being pulled between teeth while he bucked his hips up against mine as I grinded on him. He tried to turn us around, his hands taking a fierce grip on my hips but I pulled them off, linking our fingers as I put his hands above his head.

“Feeling dominant curly?” he teased, but I could tell he liked it, his blue eyes dark with lust.

“Still needed to make up for yesterday Lou, or are you too tired today as well?” I smirked as he shook his head. “Thought so.”

I leaned down, our hands still linked above his head and left a wet trail with open mouthed kisses down his cheek, along his collarbone, lapping my tongue over the lovebites I'd left earlier today. He squirmed underneath me and he looked damn hot, biting down on his bottom lip, almost breaking the skin as I sucked lightly on his sweet spot. He arched his back, searching more friction as I rolled my hips against his. He breathed out my name and I had just pressed my lips against his again when a loud bang sounded through the room, followed by a high pitched giggle and Niall giggling along but then shushing his fuck of the evening. How lovely, now we'd have to put up with their sex noises for the next hour or so. Without realising it, I had let go of Louis hands and one of his hands had moved to the back of my neck, twirling my curls around between his fingers.

“Hey, curly,” the look in his eyes was soft, almost loving as his other hand brushed my hair out of my face. “Let's just be louder than him and that slut, yeah?” As soon as I had noticed it, the look in his eyes had changed back to one of pure and burning lust. I smiled and nodded, grabbing his hands again and continuing the kiss I had started. I pulled him up so I was sitting in his lap and undid the last few buttons of his shirts that were still fastened, pushing it off his shoulders together with his braces. My fingers lightly trailed over his chest, causing him to shiver and his hands to fumble at the buttons of my shirt. I pulled back from the kiss and raised an eyebrow, looking from his face to his hands.

“What, you're not letting me do anything?” he asked, panting against my mouth.

“Nothing that I haven't given you permission for. And by that I mean _nothing._ ”I replied and kept my gaze fixed on him as I saw him gulp.

“Fuck,”he breathed, obviously massively aroused by this little game of mine. I kissed him again, our tongues sloppily rubbing against each other in our mouths or the space between them. “Can...” he breathed between the kisses. “Can I... Oh fuck Harry.” My hand trailed down in between our bodies, palming him through his pants.

“You were saying?”

“Can I undo your shirt?” his breathing was ragged and he had a hard time saying more than two words at once.

“Yes Lou, you can.” I smiled and his hands moved to my collar, eagerly undoing the buttons and pushing the fabric off my shoulders, his hands trailing over my chest and down my abs, his eyes widening as usual when he saw my bare torso. I kissed him softly this time, my tongue trailing over his lips but I didn't give in when he opened his mouth to let me in and put my palms over his chest, gently pushing him down again. I unbuttoned his pants and tugged them down together with his briefs, removing my body from his lap to be able to do so.

“You're so hard Louis.” I whispered, letting my hot breath fall down on his hard on.

“God Harry, you're being such a tease today!” he complained loudly, moaning as I let my tongue slip out of my mouth.

“Told you I'd get you back Lou, you might be a professional tease but I'm not too bad myself, right?” I retorted before I took his length between my lips, sucking it lightly as I moved further down, suppressing my gag reflex as his tip bumped into the back of my throat. I let my tongue twirl around his shaft as I sucked and bobbed my head. He didn't let me down on being loud though, he moaned and yelled my name as his hands fisted my hair. I could feel his muscles contracting beneath me and I knew he was close, and he didn't forget to tell me either.

“Oh god Harry, oh goooooood, so close, so uuuuggggghhhhh” He arched his back and pushed deeper into my mouth. I took this as my cue to pull back. He mewled a it at the loss of contact and his fingers digged into my shoulders.

“Didn't I tell you to ask permission Lou?” I asked, my finger stroking his length lightly.

“Oh screw you Styles!” he shouted, making me chuckle.

“Ask me Louis.” I replied sternly, still stroking him teasingly.

“Ugh. Fine. Can I come Harry?” he asked aggravated.

“No.”I replied grinning before I took him back into my mouth, planning to make him beg, and that was exactly what he was doing half an hour later, after I had continued my game of licking, stroking, sucking and breathing down on him, a couple of times I squeezed him at the base to help him keep his orgasm back. His damp hair was stuck to his head and beads of sweat were all over his forehead when I decided I'd teased him long enough.

“Please baby, come on, you're driving me absolutely nuts here.” he shouted, unable to keep his voice down but I didn't care, if anything it turned me on even more.

“What Louis, tell me what you want.” I breathed into his ear as my hand kept on moving up and down quickly on his hard on.

“I want to come Harry, please, can I come?” moans kept escaping from his mouth in between the words.

“Yes baby, come for me. Now.” I replied in the most stern voice I could manage, and as soon as the last word had left my lips, he came, hard. His body jerked up from the mattress and he squirted all over my hand and his stomach. It took him a while to cool down after that, and I kept pressing soft kisses all over his face until he opened his eyes, the blue hazy and moist before he blinked it away. I kissed him once more on the lips and moved my hand down between our bodies to rid myself of my throbbing hard on. It was getting rather painful now so I just wanted it over with so we could go to sleep. I had worn us both out more than enough now, and I noticed that the apartment was silent, Niall and his slut were done as well.

Louis grabbed my wrist, not interrupting the kiss as he mumbled against my lips. “Allow me babe.”

I threw my head back as his thin fingers wrapped around my length, moving up and down, squeezing and releasing pressure expertly. I moaned loudly as he turned me on my back, his mouth now sucking on the skin in my neck. It didn't take me long to finish and he didn't make any effort to prolong it. I was completely spent as he fell down on top of me, kissing me slowly as he grabbed some tissues to clean us up a bit before we curled up beneath the sheets.

The next morning, I woke up alone, feeling cold without Louis' body to keep me warm. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to grab a quick shower, a bit disappointed that he had left already. Usually he'd at least stay until I was awake, but not today, apparently. My surprise couldn't have been bigger when the bathroom door swung open right when I reached for the doorknob.

“Morning curly!” he said cheerily, dressed only in one of my towels, using another one to dry his hair.

“You're still here.” I realized I sounded really surprised when he chuckled and ruffled through my mess of curls.

“Of course I am. I wouldn't miss breakfast with my boyfriend, right?”he winked and skipped through the hallway back to my room. By the time I'd finished my shower and walked back into the room, my curls still dripping water all over my back, only a towel wrapped around my waist, he stood next to my bookshelves, flipping through the pages of the book he was holding. He looked up and smiled as I walked in, wrapping his arms around my waist as he pulled me closer for a kiss.

“You're hot when you're dominating curly.” he muttered against my lips, adding a wink before he licked up a drop from my shoulder. I smiled at him and kissed him once more before I turned around to get dressed.

“What do you want for breakfast Lou?”

“I've noticed a bakery around the corner. I'm not feeling like a fry up and the sun is out. Let's go for a walk curly!” He replied, putting the book back on the shelf and watching me.

I nodded and put on my shoes, smiling at him as he grabbed my hand.

  
 

Niall was up by the time we returned from the bakery, his blonde hair looking like he just had sex, which was probably the truth, and dressed only in a creased loose boxershort. He was spread out on the couch, his hand rubbing through his hair as he watched the recaps of yesterdays football matches.

“Morning Niall!” I said cheerily, feeling happy due to Louis' company that laster longer than usual and the sunny weather, though it was still pretty cold.

“Hey Haz.” he replied, turning around and only then noticing the boy on my hand. He scrunched up his face in confusion. “Hello Louis.”

“Niall.”Louis replied, the smile on his face contrasting with the cool tone of his voice.

“We went to get breakfast from the bakery Ni, is your girl staying?” I shouted from the kitchen, wanting to know how many plates I'd need.

“Never have a one night stand stay for breakfast Harry-boy.” Niall snickered. “Besides, I think you scared her a bit with your homosexual screaming last night.”

Niall walked into the kitchen and as soon as he did, Louis wrapped his arms around my waist, his chest pressed against my back and his head leaning in between my shoulder blades.

“Sorry Niall, my Harry just makes me feel so good, don't you honey bear?”

I turned around, forcing Louis to let go, but not before he had pressed a kiss to my cheek. I had to suppress the urge to push him off me, feeling slightly uncomfortable with doing this in front of Niall, but I supposed it was part of the plan now. Louis skipped to the living room, carrying the bottle of orange juice and three glasses. Niall quirked his eyebrow at me, looking utterly confused as I shrugged and followed Louis to the living room. Niall came in last, holding the tea, milk and sugar.

“Haz, what time do you have classes tomorrow? I'm going to the library and thought we maybe could have lunch together.” Niall asked, sitting down and trying to decide what to choose from the wide variety of bakery goods we'd bought.

“Uhm, yeah that'd be good I think, I've got class from ten to twelve and then again at two.” I replied between bites from my croissant.

“Oh baby, I was actually hoping we could go out for lunch together tomorrow.” Louis interjected, his eyes wide and his bottom lip slightly sticking out in the cutest puppy face I'd ever seen. He even beat Niall's, and that's a lot to say.

“Oh, uh, okay, I guess.” I replied and got rewarded with a peck on my lips and a flick to my nose as Louis squealed gleefully and jumped up and down in his seat.

Niall gave me a weird look once again and I was absolutely sure I'd have some explaining to do once Louis had left. I didn't have time to ponder on that, because Louis was squeezing himself on my lap before I knew it, putting his muffin on my plate and wrapping his arms around my neck.

“You look good in that shirt Harry, it really brings out the colour of your eyes.” Louis said, trailing his finger over my torso. He pecked my lips once more, tugging slightly on my bottom lip with his teeth as he picked up his muffin. “You should taste this babe, it's really good,” he added as he rubbed the muffin against my lips, biting his bottom lip as I took a bite. He was right, it was good. In fact it was so good that I couldn't help but moan softly as the sweetness invaded my mouth. He giggled a bit and brought his mouth next to my ear, breathing hot air all over it as he whispered that he liked it better when I moaned because of him. I felt my face flush bright red and he made it even worse when he grabbed my earlobe between his teeth, nibbling on it before he let go and took another bite of his muffin.

Once I had regained my common sense I picked my croissant up from my plate again, but before I could put the last bit in my mouth, Louis was looking at me with his cute pout again. “Can I have a bite love?”

I smiled at him, he really looked so cute I couldn't do anything else but smile, and put it in his mouth instead, blushing even more when he didn't refrain from licking the crumbs off my fingers.

Niall looked something between disgusted and shocked when he cleared his throat. He grabbed two more rolls and got up, eating one of them on the way to his room. I felt more than a little bad for him, he never rubbed his girlfriends or one night stands in my face either, and I had to admit Louis was going a bit over the top maybe.

Louis was smiling brightly when I turned back to him, and much to my surprise, he didn't change positions. He just remained on my lap and fed me bites from his food while he asked me to do the same. He hung around for a little while longer after we finished our breakfast, drying the dishes that I washed, and even though his presence and his behaviour pulled me slightly out of my comfort zone, I wasn't complaining. I always enjoyed all the time I got to spend with him and it wasn't different today.

I leaned against the wall while waiting for him to get his coat and scarf on, and smiled as he put his hands next to my face, brushing our lips together before he kissed me properly. “Looks like we at least had some effect on Niall curly.” he winked and kissed me again. “I'll see you tomorrow then, I'll text you where and when to meet me for our lunchdate.”

I nodded and grabbed his wrist as he turned to walk out the door, pulling him back for one last kiss. Him behaving like this had certainly an effect on me as well. “Bye curly.” he winked, that sexy half smile of him plastered on his face as he turned around, holding his hand up and waving as he disappeared downstairs.


	11. Chapter Ten

Perhaps we were taking things too far. I mean, for the entire week we hardly left each others sides. Despite the fact that I had uni and Louis had to go to work, we always wound up spending the night together; mostly at mine because of our plan, but at Louis' a couple of times as well to leave Niall wondering what we could possibly be up to.

We cooked each other breakfast every morning and fell asleep in each others arms. As "boyfriendy" as that seemed, I knew it really meant nothing to him. He was just a really good player; although this time he was playing a new game - the jealousy game. Occasionally, we still had steamy snog sessions to make up for the lack of them lately, but he was always just cute and cuddly when Niall was around. I didn't mind that. It felt kind of nice to think he wanted me, but when Louis returned home and reality kicked in it always felt like a slap in the face.

Niall and I sat at the kitchen table, enjoying a pint and chatting. He leaned back, his legs on the table. Typically, I'd fuss about it and push his feet down, but I didn't take notice today. He chugged back a sip, licking his lips in a much more sexual way then intended and I forced myself to look away.

"Your boyfriend's coming over again, yeah?" Niall asked.

"His name is Louis, and yes he is. I hope you don't mind him staying the night again," I shrugged, knowing he really had no choice in this anyways. He had girls over constantly, even though they were usually kicked out first thing in the morning by the little fucker himself.

"Sorry, Louis," he spat, shaking his head. "What a queer name."

"Fuck off," I snarled, getting out of my seat to grab a new can, chucking the emptied one into the recycling bin.

Niall chuckled at my words, throwing his head back adorably. I didn't mind when he teased Louis and I, because I knew they had nothing against each other - just pure banter. Although I somehow wished the harshness behind the blond blokes words was due to jealousy; but it wasn't.

Three knocks on the front door announced Louis' arrival. I glanced at Niall who kicked his feet down, standing up and stretching, his shirt rising to show a small patch of the treasure trail on his stomach. Oh God. I mean, he wasn't tan and muscular like Louis, but he was still sexy as hell.

"Are you gonna get that mate?" Niall pointed to the doorway, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, sorry. Blanked out." I shook my head, forcing a small smile.

"S'okay mate. Go get your man." Niall winked, getting another beer himself.

Another few knocks alerted us both and I whispered that Louis was so eager, receiving a melodic laugh from Niall as I paced past him to the door. I unlocked the two hinges quickly and opened it to reveal the smaller boy with muscles that I was desperate to run my hands over. I guess I was the eager one now.

"Hey darling," Louis half-whispered, loud enough for Niall to hear him in the next room. He had one hand behind his back and the other reached up to cup my cheek. He stood on his tiptoes in my pair of scrappy white converse, pecking my lips gently. Kissing him felt so natural now, and I always craved more when he pulled away.

"Hi baby. What are you doing?" I pointed to the arm still hidden behind him, intertwining my hand with the other hand and rubbing my thumb against the back of it.

"I brought you a present," he smiled. His smile was contagious. The way his thin pink lips pulled over his sparkling white teeth was just breathtaking.

His tongue poked out between his teeth as he swung his arm forward, revealing a beautiful bouquet of a dozen roses. Inside, there was a card that read "I love you, Curly. Forever & Always." I took them from his hand shakily, sighing deeply. They were beautiful. They were so romantic. In fact, it almost made me believe this wasn't all just a game.

"Oh Lou, they're gorgeous," I breathed out, sniffing them. They smelled so sweet and the smell tickled my nostrils. "Thanks love."

I leaned down to grab his bottom lip between my own, moulding our lips together and moving in synchronization for a few moments before he pulled away, smiling.

"Let's get a pot for these, yeah?" I mumbled.

I dragged Louis to the kitchen where Niall was seated at the table chowing on a bowl of cereal despite the fact that it was half past eight in the evening. He ate sloppily, the milk dribbling down his chin. He looked like such a child.

"Hey, Louis," Niall waved, licking the milk off his chin before taking another bite.

"Hey, Ni. How have you been?"

I scrambled through the kitchen cupboard looking for a pot as my two best mates chatted amongst each other. Louis took a seat next to him at the table and their laughter resignated in my ears after they said something that I didn't quite catch. I finally found a nice glass vase and brought it to the sink, filling it up with tap water, adding the bouquet in soon after.

"You up for a movie?" I heard Louis shout as he spun in his seat to look at me. "Niall invited us to watch one with him."

Louis smiled at Niall before turning back to me, resting his arms on the back of the chair as he stared at me, awaiting an answer. I would never object of watching a movie with Niall - especially when Louis was over to play our little game.

Only ten minutes later we were settled on the couch; Louis and I on one and Niall on the love seat in the corner. Each couch had a bowl of freshly popped popcorn and I was snuggled into Louis' side, my legs kicked up under me. Niall chose to watch "The Holiday", claiming he was in the Christmas spirit even though it was still six weeks away.

Louis' arm immediately draped around my shoulder when the movie began, pulling me in close to his body. I rested my head on his shoulder and grabbed a handful of popcorn. I found myself distracted from the television when we emptied our bowl of popcorn and Louis put it on the floor, his fingers running through my curls, lightly massaging my head.

"I love your hair, darling. It's so soft and curly. Like you. You're my curly." Louis mumbled. I twisted my body so that I could look at his face and chuckled at his sheepish smile. I blushed slightly and leaned in to peck his lips, resting my forehead against his.

"I would say your hair was soft and straight like you, but I know for a fact that the latter would be wrong." I winked. I heard a snicker behind me and Louis joined in on the laughter, giving me a strange sense of accomplishment for making them both laugh.

"I'd go straight for you if you were a girl though curly," Louis winked as well. I heard a strange, choking noise and turned to see my best mate watching us with a perched eyebrow.

"The movie," Niall mumbled, pointing to the television as if we had forgotten it was playing.

"But I'm not, so you love me and my cock even more." I flirted back cheekily, ignoring Niall's comment because it seemed the plan was currently working. He rolled his eyes, huffing loudly as he turned back to the television, shifting his body so that his back faced us more.

"You look so tired. Here, lay down sweetheart." Louis adjusted his legs after he spoke so that I could lie down, resting my head on his lap. My legs were bent because I could not fit on the couch due to my height, but his lap was a very comfortable pillow. He continued to play with my hair as the movie went on, all of us sitting in silence. He massaged my head with his slim, feminine fingers and I struggled to surpress a moan. Eventually though, one stiffled from my lips and Niall immediately jumped up to shoot us a dirty look.

"Does that feel good Curly?" Louis giggled, leaning over me until our faces were only a few inches apart. I nodded and puckered my lips, waiting for him to lean down to meet mine with his own.

"Very good, boo." I moaned again, closing my eyes in satisfaction.

Louis noticed me waiting for his kiss and obliged, lingering for longer then necessary until we were both out of breath and I pushed him away. The kiss was awkward since our heads were facing different directions and he was leaning down to meet mine, but it was cute nonetheless. When he pulled away, he pressed butterfly kisses all over my nose and on my forehead until I was giggling and pushing him off of me again.

"Stop, Lou!" I giggled, sitting up to escape his wrath of kisses when he continued to attack me. I crawled to the opposite end of the couch, sitting as far away from him as possible and winking at him when he pouted.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't be like that," Louis whined, wiggling a finger to pry me over but I shook my head in response. "Come back."

I shook my head again and snorted when he rolled his eyes at me.

"Fine, then I guess I'll leave." Louis said sassily. "I don't think you want me here anyways."

Louis sighed dramatically and chuckled when Niall simply shouted a goodbye, obviously eager to watch the movie in silence again. I wasn't letting him leave yet, though.

"No, baby. I'm so sorry. Don't leave me." I crawled back over to Louis' side. I grabbed him and pulled him towards me, edging his body onto my lap until he shifted so that was straddling me.

I pulled him down into my arms wrapped my them around him tightly. He relaxed under my touch and wrapped his own arms around my neck, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. "He's not really paying attention." Louis whispered into my ear, referring to Niall quietly watching the movie, probably having decided it was better to ignore us.

"Oh, Louis. Your so warm, like a blanket." I said a little louder then necessary. "You'll be even warmer later on though when you're dripping with sweat."

"Is that part of your plans for tonight?" Louis smirked, sitting straight to look me in the eye. His fingers twirled the curls on the back of my neck, giving me goosebumps.

"Oh Lou, it's part of my plans every night." I said cheekily, smiling at a gagging sound coming from my blonde friend on the other couch.

"Mmm, I like the sound of that," Louis moaned, adjusting himself so that he was sitting up a little, his head higher then mine. He smirked before winking and leaning down to press our lips together, immediately slipping his tongue in my mouth. He ground his hips down into mine and I moaned pornographically, purposely louder than usual.

"Jesus, Louis. Hard already?" I snickered as he attacked my neck, sucking and licking, ravishing it with fresh bruises.

"Holy fuck boys," Niall groaned, sounding pissed off. I heard some ruffling and knew he was probably sat up, looking at us and rolling his eyes.

"Carry me to your bedroom," Louis whispered in my ear, low enough that our friend wouldn't hear. He reattached our lips as I scooted to the edge of the sofa, Louis' ankles locking around my back. My large hands gripped beneath his thighs before I stood up, stumbling due to the extra weight attached to my front.

"Enjoy the movie, Ni. We're umm, going to finish this elsewhere." I chuckled, noticing his disturbed expression as we walked by him, our lips locked together again sloppily. I stomped through the hallway to the bedroom, kicking the door open. I tossed Louis on the bed and crawled on top, feverishly pressing my lips against his.

"No," he groaned, pushing me away. "I just want to cuddle."

I stopped and looked down at him, my gaze trailing to his red, swollen lips that I wanted to catch between my own again, but cuddling sounded even better. It was something we didn't do often when we were alone. When we did, it was usually just for show in front of Niall. Did I even care what Niall thought anymore or did I pretend I did to keep Louis around longer? I actually didn't know. I couldn't decipher my feelings anymore.

"Really?" I smiled, embarrassed that I sounded so excited about his offer.

"Yes. Strip me please then let's go to sleep," he mumbled, lifting his bum off of the bed so that I could pull his chinos down. I then tore his jumper over his head and stripped myself as well before climbing into bed beside him, both of us wearing nothing but our boxers.

"Do you think it's working?" Louis muttered, pulling me close to him. His fingers found their way to my hair, something that seemed to have become a habit.

"What?"

"The whole jealousy thing," Louis muttered. His words were a little slurred and I could tell he was tired despite how early it actually was.

"I hope so," I replied, but did I really? Being with Niall would mean losing Louis, and could I even live without him anymore? I couldn't even keep a relationship for six months with another bloke without staying faithful throughout because thoughts of Louis constantly trotted through my brain.

"Sleep tight, curly," Louis whispered sweetly, dropping the conversation. He pressed a soft kiss onto my mass of curls before taking a deep breath and falling into slumber. I closed my eyes, enjoying his lips pressed to my skin and snuggled closer to him until I could hear his steadying heartbeat through his bare chest.


	12. Chapter Eleven

I took the beer that Louis got for me from his hands and watched him as he took a seat on the couch across me. I smiled at him and thought about how close we’d gotten over these last few months. Even though I was getting more and more convinced that we didn’t exactly reach anything when it came to making Niall jealous, I was scared of telling him so, afraid it would take away our purpose for spending so much time together. I took a sip of my beer and propped my feet up on the coffee table. We’d told Niall we’d be going out for a walk, as a date, but we’d soon decided it was too damn cold to stay outside so we’d come to Louis’ place instead.

“So, what are your plans for the holidays next month?” I asked, still looking at Louis. He looked good today, in his brown jeans and a red woolen jumper on top.

“My dad’s coming over here with my sister for Christmas day and Boxing day. Just presents, fancy dinner and stuff like that I s’pose.” He shrugged. “We don’t really care all that much about Christmas at all, but it’s a good occasion to catch up.”

“What about your mum?”it suddenly occurred to me that I hardly knew anything about his family, we never really talked about that stuff, although I was pretty sure he knew about my parents and sister. He snorted in reply.

“I haven’t seen her in over fifteen years, so I don’t see why I’d invite her for Christmas.” He finally sighed when he saw me still looking at him and waiting for a proper reply.

“Really? You were 7 or something back then?”

“Yep. She was kind enough to stay for my 7th birthday and Christmas, and by the time me and my sister got out of bed on Boxing day, her suitcases were packed and an hour later her so called friend from work picked her up in his fancy car. Never seen her again since.”

“Wow. That sucks.”

“Yeah well. Got over it. Dealt with a dad who was reduced to a sobbing mess the first few months, at least I learned how to manage a household but I’d like to think I turned out rather well.” He smirked at me, and that was enough to let me know this would be all he’d say about those things now. “Are you going home for Christmas curly? Open presents, eat turkey, kiss your handsome neighbour under the mistletoe?”

I chuckled. “The only neighbour I have back home is about 75 I believe, so I don’t exactly fancy kissing him under the mistletoe. But other than that, yeah, that’s pretty much what Christmas is like with my family.”

“We should totally put mistletoe all over your apartment,” he suddenly said. “You’d get to kiss Niall all the time, and if he’s not around, we’d have an excuse to kiss some more.” He winked, a devious smile on his face, causing me to roll my eyes at him.

“As if we ever need an excuse Lou.”

“Haha! That's right curly!” he replied loudly before he got up from his seat and jumped in my lap, his arms around my neck and his fingers twirling my curls around. It was something that happened more and more, even when Niall wasn't around, just Louis showing his affection, and although a small voice inside my head kept nagging me that he was probably just practising for when Niall was around, I enjoyed those moments with all my heart. Maybe even more than I enjoyed the heated sex. He pressed his lips to mine for a short kiss before he scrunched up his face in thought. I watched him expectantly as he bit his lip and studied my face.

“Are you any good at Christmas shopping Harry?” he finally asked, his fingers still playing with my hair at the back of my neck.

“Uhm, I suppose so, why?”

“Good, we're going shopping next week. I suck at it so maybe this year I'll be able to come up with some decent presents.”

I chuckled and ran my hand through his hair, pressing another kiss to his lips before he jumped up, telling me he thought we'd been out for long enough for Niall to believe we'd gone on a walk now and pulled me up to get back home.

That next week, Louis picked me up from school almost every day, be it for lunch or to spend the evening together, depending on my schedule. He always acted like a boyfriend, even when Niall wasn't anywhere near, although he did put up an even bigger act when that was the case. He'd hold my hand or wrap his arm around my waist when we walked around, and there was the occasional kiss, but when Niall was around, he never kept his hands or his lips off of me for more than two minutes, even whining when I went to the kitchen or the bathroom.

On Saturday, he woke me up at an unearthly hour, stating we'd better go shopping early in the day to avoid a crowd. He walked around the kitchen, grabbing two bowls and cereal from the cupboard like he lived here, and considering the amount of time he spent here, he pretty much did actually.

He was trying to make conversation, blabbering about the Christmas gifts he needed to get for his dad and his sister, and that he also needed to get Christmas decorations for his flat, but I was hardly paying attention. I was still tired after staying up half the night thinking about what a mess my life was becoming. I was 20, madly in love with my room mate who was my best friend, and also very straight and oblivious to what I felt for him, and then there was Louis. Even if we still called it being friends with benefits, I wasn't sure if that was still what we were. Well not from my point of view anyway. Ever since we had started playing the boyfriend game to make Niall jealous, things had changed, or maybe they had changed before but I just hadn't noticed it earlier. It was becoming more and more difficult for me to see what was real and what was part of the game, and the more I thought about it, the more blurry it became. I didn't know what I felt for who and how I was going to get out of this mess without getting hurt badly, but I wasn't ready to lose Louis either, so I had to keep playing the game. I'd fallen asleep around 4am eventually, and being woken up at eight left me yawning and rubbing my eyes over breakfast, unable to pay attention to Louis' rambling.

I hadn't noticed he'd stopped talking, my gaze trained on my bowl of cereal when I suddenly felt something cold dripping from my face. I looked up and saw him grinning mischievously at me, his spoon in his hand as proof he had just thrown a spoonful of milk at my face.

“Oh yeah, Tomlinson?”my tiredness had suddenly disappeared and replaced by plans to take revenge.

“You bet, Styles.”he smirked, his eyes glistening. My bowl wasn't even half empty, so I grabbed a small handful of soaked cereal and flung it at his bare chest, making him gasp as the cold goo started dripping down towards his boxers.

Without a second thought, a full on food fight erupted in the kitchen, yesterday's left overs being rubbed in each others faces, milk and orange juice poured over our hair and yoghurt dripping from inside his boxers. After half an hour we were both panting on a filthy kitchen floor, his soaked hair leaving small puddles of orange juice all over the jam that he had smeared all over my abs.

“God, Niall's going to kill us, he cleaned the kitchen only yesterday.” I said, looking around at the mess we made, the white cupboard doors were dripping with all kinds of food, it wasn't even possible to tell which ones.

Louis sat up and shook his head, causing drops of orange juice and milk flying all over me and the floor around us.

“Looks like we might have to postpone shopping a bit. Let's go shower first yeah?” he said, running his hand through his hair with a disgusted look on his face when he looked at the goo that came out of his hair. I nodded and tried to run to the shower as quickly as I possibly could without leaving a trail of filth on the floor.

I couldn't say I minded sharing the shower with Louis, even if he kept me waiting for a kiss until our faces were clean. But I loved how he helped me get all cereal and rice grains out of my hair, how he took it as an excuse to shampoo my hair, how his fingernails scraped my scalp, and how he softly smiled when I couldn't stop a small moan from escaping.

I rinsed the conditioner from his hair and handed him the body wash before I rinsed my own hair, peeking through my eyelashes at his tanned body glistening with the water and soap. He was so beautiful, it was almost unreal. His muscles weren't too defined but still flexed nicely under his skin when he used them. His arms had to be the most beautiful ones I'd ever laid eyes on, the way his biceps bulged under his ever rolled up sleeves, and how they tensed when he ran his hands through his hair.

“You're staring curly.”he scolded me, but he was smiling and his eyes lit up as he pecked my lips. “Come on, we should really get dressed and clean the mess we made before Niall wakes up and kills us for ruining his work.”

I quickly rinsed the last bit of soap from my body, and followed him outside of the shower, drying off before we ran to my bedroom to get dressed. Due to him staying over and both of us borrowing each others clothes, his stuff was taking over a fair share of my wardrobe. He picked out a pair of jeans and a grey T-shirt but finally grabbed one of my jumpers, apparently unable to find one to his liking of his own. He looked cute with my jumper on, it was a bit too long and too wide and he had to roll up the sleeves so they wouldn't fall over his hands, it gave him a sort of vulnerability I liked on him. It gave me the idea that I wasn't the only one with a vulnerable side, even if Louis hardly ever showed it, and if he did, he was the one setting the rules and deciding when it started and stopped, as he always did with everything.

An hour and a half later, the kitchen was finally back in its original state, although the fridge was markedly emptier than before, and Niall still wasn't up. I left him a note that we were out shopping and that we'd pass by the supermarket to replenish the food supplies and grinned widely at Louis who was impatiently tapping his foot because he couldn't wait to go out. I pulled his grey beanie over his eyes, making him slap me before he took another five minutes to fix his hair while I grabbed another one of his beanies I'd not-so-secretly stolen and put on my coat.

The stores were crowded by now, but I knew what presents I wanted to get for my family so most of the time I just took the lead, pulling Louis through the mass of people to the shops I wanted to go to. I got my mum a silk shawl, a Beatles collection box for my dad, the DVD-box of her favourite comedy series for my sister and a Kate Winslet movie collection box for Niall as she was one of his favourite actresses. I wasn't sure if I needed to get Louis a present, I mean, we were friends but we hadn't talked about it yet, and I didn't want to be pushy. I decided to think about it later on, I couldn't exactly buy it today anyway, so when he had finally decided on presents for his dad and his sister, he pulled me to the other end of the shopping streets, ending up at an expensive looking decoration shop. Even though he kept saying that Christmas wasn't a big deal for him, Christmas decorations obviously were. He spent half an hour picking out colour schemes for his tree and forced me to at least buy some decorations for our flat. Niall and I normally didn't bother with it since we both went home for Christmas anyway, but Louis wouldn't hear of it. I ended up with some small ornaments and what looked like a billion Christmas lights and the promise that Louis would help me set it all up. He had no less than three bags and ordered me to come by his flat tomorrow to help him with all of it. We made one last stop to buy him a Christmas tree and dropped everything off at his place before he drove us to the supermarket to go grocery shopping on our way to my flat.

Niall was grumpy when we came home, due to the 'lack of food' as he described it, even though there still was plenty of food left for any normal human being, and he pulled the bags out of our hands as soon as we entered the kitchen, rummaging through them until he found something he liked, leaving us to put the groceries away.

It took us a full day and three more evenings to get Louis' flat decorated in Christmas spirits in a way that he approved of, but I had to admit it looked beautiful afterwards. It was simple but stunning and cosy. He helped me put up the lights at our window and in vases around the entire living room, giving even our student flat a cosy look with a tangible holiday spirit. Niall had smirked and called us the 'most gay men alive' when we were setting it all up, but I could tell he actually liked it.

Weeks flew by, I had quite a lot of work for uni as our teachers had all decided they wanted us to write papers and finish project work before Christmas so my time spent with Louis was quite limited. He came over a couple of times to watch a movie or spend the night, and I slept at his a couple of times, nights of cosy cuddling alternating with nights of heated make out sessions to let of steam.

It was a couple of days before Christmas when I found Niall at the breakfast table with a petite, brown haired girl. She was dressed in a T-shirt of his and looked at Niall in a lovestruck way. I just grabbed myself some breakfast and went back to my room to allow them some privacy. It really was only that, I realised once I'd finished my sandwich. It wasn't because I couldn't bear them looking all infatuated at each other, much to my own surprise. I didn't feel jealous of the pretty girl getting all of Niall's attention, if anything I was happy for him that he finally found someone who he thought worthy to have breakfast with him. I was more confused than anything, and shrugged it off since I had Louis' birthday to plan for.

Niall hugged me goodbye, making me promise to send his love to my family and grabbed his suitcase before he walked out to the taxi that was waiting outside. We usually went back home together on Christmas eve, but this time I wanted to stay until the next morning, my mum had been confused when I'd told her, but it was Louis' birthday and I wanted to somehow celebrate it with him. Especially because his own family wouldn't be arriving until the next afternoon. I grabbed my phone and pressed 4. He had been on speed dial for a while now, since it was one of the numbers I used most.

“Good morning curly.” he greeted happily on the other end of the line.

“Morning Lou, happy birthday.” I replied and I could imagine him rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, thanks, what's up?” He hated his birthday, probably partly because his mother leaving so soon after it years ago, but I was going to make today a birthday to remember.

“You're still free today right?” I asked him, suddenly a bit scared that he'd forgotten about his promise to keep the day free for my plans.

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay, uhm, well, I've got a present for you, and I expect you over here to collect it in half an hour. The door will be unlocked so just come in when you're arrive, okay?”

“Uhm, yeah, I guess.”

“Alright, see you then Lou!”

He sounded a bit out of his comfort zone at me making the rules about today's encounter, and if I was right about him liking my surprise, he wouldn't even know what comfort zone meant by the time I was done with him.

I was done with setting up everything I needed and was waiting for him to arrive when he did, exactly half an hour after our phone call. He came inside, throwing the front door closed behind him, not noticing me in the built-in closet in our hallway as he walked towards the living room. “Harry?” he called when he found the room empty, but by that time I had snuck up behind him.

I quickly covered his eyes with the black cloth that would be his blindfold, tying it up as I rested my chin on his shoulder and used my most seductive voice to greet him close to his ear.

“Hello Louis. Happy birthday.” I kissed his neck and turned him around, wanting to see his face. “So, ready for you birthday present darling?” A smile tugged on my lips as I saw him gulp and nod, apparently unable to speak.

I guided him to the chair I had set up in the living room, candles everywhere, even if he couldn't see it, I felt it was important to create the right atmosphere. “Tell me then Louis, will you be able to keep your hands to yourself and enjoy the pleasure or should I tie them up.” He gulped heavily again and shook his head. “Is that a no, I won't be able to keep my hands to myself or no, you don't have to tie me up?” I kept my voice still low and husky and leaned in close to his lips, so he would feel my breath on them as I spoke, my body pressed closely to his as he stood in front of the chair.

“No, you don't have to tie me up.” he croaked, his voice strained as a sign he was already aroused by this game of mine.

“Alright, if you say so.” I let my lips brush past his, my tongue slipping out of my mouth for only a split second, his lips parting slightly, ragged breathes escaping them. I smiled and slowly pulled up his jumper, admiring the strip of skin that showed when his shirt rode up with the jumper before it fell back down. I pulled it over his head and threw it on the sofa, my hands trailing over his arms to his hands, lacing my fingers with him as I leaned in to give him the kiss he longed for. His tongue fought eagerly with mine, and I could tell he was on edge now that his sight was taken away from him.

I pulled away again and unbuttoned his pants, my fingers stroking over the obvious bulge in his boxer-briefs as I pulled the zipper down. I pulled them down and crouched down in front of him, taking off his shoes before I helped him step out of his pants, not neglecting to let my warm breath fall down on his hard on through his briefs, making him shiver violently as a moan tumbled from his lips. I stood up straight again and started to take of his shirt, my fingers ghosting over his skin as I did so. I smiled at the goosebumps that erupted in their wake, and bent over to kiss his stomach, my tongue flicking over the warm flesh as his muscles rippled under the skin.

I dropped his T-shirt with the rest of his clothes and pushed him backwards towards the chair, until the back of knees bumped into the seating.

“It's a chair Lou, sit down on it.” I breathed between sloppy kisses. I got down on my knees in front of him when he sat down on the edge of the chair. He obviously wasn't completely comfortable with not having any control over the situation, but it didn't make him any less excited for what was coming his way. I let my fingers stroke his face softly, his head turning and leaning into the touch. I ran a finger over his soft lips that were already bright red and a little swollen from our earlier kissing before I continued my journey down, my fingers floating over his soft skin, playing with his nipples and the soft hairs on his chest as I left open mouthed kisses all over his torso. I leaned further down and licked around his belly button, causing him to lean back, his head thrown back over the back of the chair as he arched his back and pushed his hips up.

“You're so eager Lou, I love it.” I whispered against his stomach, his abs twitching under my hot breath. He answered with a loud moan only when I pinched his right nipple, his breathing harsh. I kept my fingers stroking his arms and stomach while I bent over, kissing his thigh right next to his knee, making him bite his lip to suppress a moan. I slowly licked up towards his groin, my tongue trailing circles on his inner thigh while my right hand moved to the outside of his thigh. He shivered violently when I let my finger slip under his briefs and trailing along the V-line formed by his abs.

“God... Harry...” he moaned, his erection straining behind the soft cotton and quivering when my nose brushed against it while I kissed his leg.

“Lift your bum Lou.” I said softly, my thumbs hooking behind his waistband so I could pull his last item of clothing off. I was surprised that he had succeeded at keeping his hands to himself, his knuckles white as they gripped onto the legs of the chair behind him. He planted his heels on the ground and arched his back so his bum was lifted enough for me to pull his briefs down. As soon as he landed on the chair again, I decided I'd teased him long enough and flicked my tongue over his tip, evoking a long and loud moan from him before he bit down on his lip violently. I lifted my hand to his face again and felt him lean into my touch as I took his entire length into my mouth, sucking lightly as my head bobbed up and down, my tongue swirling around his shaft. It wasn't long before he forgot he wasn't allowed to touch me, but I enjoyed his hands grabbing and pulling my hair too much to tell him to stop. I could tell he was trying to postpone his climax, his thighs tensing around my shoulders every time he was close and relaxing again when I gave him a short break to come back to earth before I started all over again. I was rubbing my hand up and down on his hard on while my tongue licked his sack and my other hand massaged his balls softly, making him whimper and shake on the chair.

“Harry... I can't... I'm gonna...” he breathed and I smiled, bringing one hand up to put a finger to his lips as my mouth moved back to his throbbing erection, taking all of it into my mouth before I sucked hard, making him come violently, squirting into my mouth. I kept stroking his body, his muscles contracted under my touch as I swallowed and wiped my mouth on my shoulder. I waited for him to stop shaking before I got up and pulled my own shirt and pants off, wanting to feel his skin against mine as I climbed on top of him to kiss him, my legs straddling his hips.

I pulled back from the intense kiss, my fingers brushing his damp hair away from his forehead before I brought my head down next to his, our faces rubbing against each other, both of us pressing soft kisses to each other's cheeks and jawbones.

“I want to see you Harry.” he breathed after a while and I kissed him while I untied his blindfold, unable to deny him anything right now. He squeezed his eyes against the light and it hit me how utterly beautiful he looked with only the light of the candles and the Christmas lights illuminating the room because I had closed the curtains. I felt all gooey inside and I couldn't help telling him, even if I knew that I was walking on thin ice when I did.

“You look so beautiful right now Lou.” I breathed against his lips, brushing mine against them as he replied with a smile.

“So do you Harry. Shall we take this to the bedroom? Might be a little more comfortable.” I nodded and got off of him, quickly blowing the candles out before following his bare bum towards my bedroom.

We had lunch some time that day, and later I made him blow out the candles on the cake I made for him, all between rounds of making out, kissing and cuddling in my bedroom, on the couch and on the kitchen counter. I reluctantly put on some clothes to open up the door for the pizza delivery guy but it didn't take long before Louis stripped them off me again.

Around ten, we were both exhausted, and given the fact that we both had to get up early the next morning, we decided to go to sleep. Louis curled up under the sheets, his arm around my waist and his head buried into my neck. It sounded like he was half asleep when he spoke up.

“That was definitely the best birthday ever curly. Thanks.”

I smiled and nuzzled my nose into his soft locks. “Very much my pleasure babe.” I hesitated before I continued, but I couldn't stop the words from leaving my lips, the feeling was too strong to keep it inside. “I love you Louis.” He probably was asleep already because he didn't react in any way, so I just sighed and shifted a bit to make myself comfortable and drifted off as well.


	13. Chapter Twelve

I was blinded entirely, a piece of linen completely covering my eyes. I was deprived of touch too, my knuckles hurting as I held onto the chair tightly. All of my arm muscles flexed from gripping so tightly, and I assumed my knuckles were white as snow. I couldn't let go, no matter how much I wanted to.

I was relying on my hearing to alert me of Harry's presence and I was anxious to feel something. He had just told me to sit, so I obliged, but now I needed him to do something. I was craving his lips on mine or his fingers tickling my bare skin.

Suddenly, I felt a warm finger running along my face and chapped lips, leaving me in a disheveled state as just that simple touch drove me crazy. It seemed that with limited senses, I was eager to feel him and crumpling beneath his touch. I turned my head to lean into it, resisting the urge to reach out and grab him, but stopping because l knew that would lead to me having my arms bound tightly behind the chair. That sounded hot and exciting, but I didn't want the bands on my wrists. Not today, at least.

He continued his journey down my chest, squeezing my right nipple between his long fingers. He began placing urgent, open mouthed kisses all over my torso and I was squirming underneath him, my teeth clenched tightly. He proceeded to my belly button, attacking it with his tongue as I thrived beneath him and threw my head back in pleasure, thrusting my hips up accidentally.

"You're so eager Lou, I love it," he said hotly, his voice low and husky, leaving me unable to reply with anything sensible. Instead, all that left my mouth was a loud throaty moan. His hands continued to roam my body, squeezing my biceps and sliding down to lightly graze my stomach, leaving patches of goosebumps all over. I had to bite my lip violently to suppress another moan as his tongue licked my inner thigh near my knee, making it's way up to my groin.

"God, Harry..." I managed to say shakily, throwing my head back on my shoulders again. His fingers trailed along my boxers and I whined when I felt his nose graze the tip of my erection through my thin boxer briefs. His rough tongue continued to work magic along my thighs and I almost exploded in my pants right there. He was so good at this, and the fact that I couldn't see him to identify his next move made it almost kinky, and so fucking hot.

"Lift your bum, Lou," Harry demanded, and I obliged without a second thought. He pulled my briefs all the way down and slipped them past my ankles, probably tossing them aside.

Once I was fully naked and seated back on the uncomfortable chair, he finally licked across my tip and I growled loudly in pleasure, once again puncturing my lip with my sharp teeth, breaking the skin. I felt his warm fingers stroke my cheek when he pulled back again; a gentle, almost loving touch that was sweet and so full of passion despite the reckless state we were in. He licked up my penis once more before taking me entirely in his mouth. My eyes were rolling to the back of my head behind the blindfold, feeling the ecstasy from his tongue and his cheeks tightening around my member.

He sucked hard and bobbed his head, licking along my shaft and I wanted nothing but to see him. I wanted to touch him, feel his head bouncing under my fingers and I craved to see his green eyes piercing mine as he did so; peering over his long eyelashes.

Hesitantly, I released my grip on the chair and grabbed his hair, keeping a firm grip on his curls and expecting him to stop his sucking to tie me up, punishing me for disobeying his rules. Thankfully, he didn't, so I enjoyed the feel of his soft curls in between my shaking fingers, reaching my high. I tugged on them, needing something to grip on to as my body trembled. Occasionally, he'd sense me tense up before releasing and back away, letting me simmer down before taking me back in his mouth.

"Harry... I can't... I'm gonna..." I managed to mumble as he licked and massaged my balls, unable to control myself anymore. I felt a finger press against my lips, shushing me as he sucked one last time, much harder then the last, and I came into his mouth. I wanted to watch him. I wanted to see my cum dribbling down his chin as he swallowed, and I whined because I couldn't.

I began to squirm when I couldn't feel him anymore, panicking. It was scary to be in the darkness, unsure of what was going to happen next. I heard ruffling for a few seconds and I heard his heavy breathing, reassuring me of his presence as I panted in the chair, attempting to catch my breath as well and stop my body from shaking. I felt bare skin and a crushing weight on my lap moments later. I felt Harry's chest press against mine and realised he was straddling my lap. He kissed me feverishly, but exerted passion through the kiss that made my stomach do a flip.

He pulled away from the kiss, brushing my sweaty fringe off of my forehead and pressed our foreheads together. I could feel his breath on my skin as we rubbed our faces against one another, pressing kisses to the cheek and jaw line that I couldn't see. My hands were by my side again, as I was afraid to reach out for him.

"I want to see you, Harry," I pleaded between kisses, and to my surprise he granted my wish between kisses, his long fingers fumbling with the knot tying the cloth together. The light was blinding at first, and I squinted to focus on my surroundings. He sat on me, looking giddy as he watched me with a smirk as I took in all the Christmas lights surrounding us in the dim room.

"You look so beautiful, Lou," he mumbled against my lips and I couldn't stop the smile forming on my cheeks. Those words made inexplicably made my heart beat speed up to an irregular pace.

"So do you, Harry. Shall we take this to the bedroom? Might be a little more comfortable," I chimed, hating how difficult it was to move when we were limited to this tiny chair. He nodded and climbed off of my lap, blowing out the candles as we both trotted to his bedroom, completely naked. Thank goodness Niall was not home.

That night, we spent the end of our Christmas Eve - and my birthday - cuddling under his bedsheets. I was exhausted, and found myself dozing off almost immediately with the curly haired boy snuggled tightly into my side, my arm around his slim waist. I was half asleep, but managed to croak out a few words, my lips brushing against the skin of his neck as I nuzzled my face into it.

"That was definitely the best birthday ever, Curly. Thanks," I slurred, pulling him closer.

"Very much my pleasure, babe," he replied, and I drifted off into slumber with a content look on my face. It really had been a wonderful day. Every day with Harry was incredible. I felt whole around him, somehow. It was a shame he was so hooked up on Niall and I was a mess, barely capable of keeping a relationship. Keeping things as they were now was just much easier than anything else. There was no emotional pain or connection; nothing to break me. I could keep myself a safe distance, and walk away without hurting when Harry was done with me and decided he didn't want anyone but Niall.

Through my dreary state, I managed to catch another croak from Harry as he spoke quietly. "I love you, Louis."

I wanted nothing but to reply, confess the feelings I was afraid of, but instead, I kept quiet and pretended not to have heard a thing. It was easier this way. Love complicated everything. I couldn't risk losing Harry. I didn't miss his long, breathy sigh of dissapointment when he thought his words went to waste, and felt my heart shattering in my chest already.

\----

I woke up shivering the next morning, cold from the breeze hitting my bare skin. "Harry, 'm cold," I chattered, my eyelids too heavy to open. I rolled to my side, trying to snuggle into Harry's body so that he could wrap me up, the warmth of his skin comforting me. Instead, I rolled over onto my stomach, finding the spot next to me empty. "Harry," I mumbled. I was suddenly worried, sitting straight up in the bed and trying to spot the curly haired boy.

I jumped out of bed, the cold air stinging my naked body, but ignored it as I pulled on my briefs and ran out of the room. Perhaps he was cooking us breakfast. Usually he waited until I was awake, or woke me up and carried me to the dining table when I was too lazy to do it myself. Since today was Christmas, he must have let me sleep in to prepare us a special meal.

I reached the kitchen and frowned when I realised I was wrong. It was empty. No half naked Harry singing Christmas tunes and stirring a bowl of pancake batter, greeting me with a good morning kiss or a wink as he danced along to the tune. I leaned against the doorway, biting my lip to rid myself of the pain in my chest. Just last night, I swore I had heard Harry tell me he loved me. My sleepy mind must have been playing tricks with me, because this was not how you expressed your love to someone one Christmas morning, of all days.

My throat felt like it was closing up, choking me. I ran a hand through my hair and decided it was probably best for me to go. I had to pick up my father and sister at the train station at half past one anyways. As I turned to leave the kitchen, a small white paper with black ink scribbled across it caught my attention. I reached for it, holding it with shaky fingers to read the neat handwriting.

_I had to leave. Close the door behind you and leave the key in the letter box. X_

_Harry_

"Merry Christmas to you too, darling," I muttered under my breath, crumpling up the paper and tossing it on the floor. My eyes watered, unable to stop the overflow of tears as I ran to Harry's room to get dressed. I almost wore my favorite jumper; his cozy black one, but decided against it as I tore through his drawers, looking for articles of my clothing laying around. It was hard to see through my tears, my eyes red and swollen as I heaved pathetically on his bedroom floor, eventually clutching onto the spare key that had been in my back pocket. The key he had given me nearly eight months ago. He wanted it back. Perhaps this was his way of saying good bye, just like I had tried months ago. Maybe we were both professionals at escaping our feelings.

\---

"Oh, hello Louis! Merry Christmas! I missed you so much," my father shouted as he walked quickly towards me, pulling me into his arms. My fiftten year-old sister trailed behind as they carried their luggage. I was exhausted from the difficult morning I had just had, but forced a smile and muttered that I missed him too, which was the truth. I really did miss my dad.

"How's London, Lou?" Lottie asked me, her eyes lighting up when she threw her purple bag on the ground and wrapped her arms around my waist. She looked sleepy from the train ride from Doncaster to here, I held both of her hands between mine when she pulled away, swinging them a little bit on our sides as she peered up at me through her long eye lashes, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"It's alright. I kind of miss home," I admitted, but I'd never trade my flat, my job, my privacy and my freedom to go back there anytime soon.

"Have you got a boyfriend, yet?" she asked cheekily. They knew I was gay and were proud of me for coming out years ago. I remembered bringing boys home to meet my family as a teenager, and always caught Lottie eyeing them despite the fact that one; she was too young, and two; she was a girl anyways.

Did I have a boyfriend? No, I didn't. Because I was a stupid, foolish boy that was afraid of commitment, I suppose. I had trust issue ever since my mom left us all those years ago. She was my best friend, then she just abandoned us for another man. She left my dad whom I thought she was in love with for some random curly haired bloke. That's all I remembered of him, was his stupid fucking curly head of hair visible through the car window that day she left us.

"N-no," I stuttered, biting my lip and feeling my eyes stinging again. I couldn't cry. Not here. Not in front of them.

Was I in love? Yes, I was. But I was a coward. I hid behind my feelings and used Harry for my own good because I was afraid of the consequences. Although the physical connection was amazing, and always satisfactory, I wanted more. I wanted to know Harry on an entire different level, but that was such a huge risk; a risk I was terrified to take.

"You'll find someone great soon, Lou. You deserve it," she smiled before looking back at my dad who was watching us with a huge grin on his face. He bent down to grab Lottie's bag for her and I held her hand, leading her to the car. No, she wasn't a child, so she didn't need me to hold her, but we missed each other so neither of us minded.

We spent the next couple of hours at my flat eating sweets and unwrapping presents. This was a typical Christmas for us since I moved out of our house four years ago and got my own flat in London. We'd gather at my place, but I always went home for a couple of weeks in the Summer. I bought lots of candy for Lottie and I every year, and we always ate until our stomach hurt and laugh at each other slumped on the couch, feeling nauseous as ever.

Lottie got me a new pair of white converse, although I preferred to wear Harry's scrappy ones. They fit me better, and it was always nice to know I was wearing something that belonged to him. It made me feel special. In return, I got her the latest The Fray and Coldplay CD's, along with a few posters of boy bands she was currently obsessed with. My dad got me a pair of chinos and a cozy onesie that I couldn't wait to wear. He also got me, to my surprise, a pack of condoms with various flavours.

"Dad," I huffed in embarrassment, hiding the package before my sister saw it. He laughed and replied that you could never be too safe. I felt the blush rise to my cheeks and was relieved when he announced that it was time to clean up for supper. He made his way to the kitchen and I stayed seated on the couch. I glanced to my left to see Lottie muffling her laughter with her left hand, obviously having noticed my discomfort.

"I assume that package will be empty soon," Lottie giggled, pointing to the box that was wrapped in my arms.

"You saw?" I gasped, growing an even darker shade of red. Plus, I felt a little dissapointed that I probably wouldn't be using them anytime soon anyways. Harry was gone, and I wasn't in the mood to go out and shag any random boys anytime soon.

"No, but I helped him pick them out," she admitted and my mouth dropped open in shock. "What, Louis? I remember what used to happen when you brought those gorgeous lads home. I'm not deaf."

"Jesus, Lottie! You were like eleven years old!" I groaned. I didn't want to hear this. I never realised she could hear me. Come to think of it, it was actually quite funny, but at eleven years old you would assume she'd be oblivious to what was going on in the room next door. I stopped laughing abruptly when the memory reminded me of the many times Harry and I had escaped to his bedroom, moaning and screaming extra loud to make sure his friend heard us right. His stupid, _stupid_ friend that he just couldn't forget.

"Time for supper kids!" I heard my dad shout from the kitchen. Even though he was technically the guest, I couldn't cook for shit so he took on kitchen duty during his visits. All I did was supply the right ingredients.

Lottie rolled her eyes like a typical drama queen of a teenager and huffed, following suit behind me as I headed to the dining table. We sat around as my dad cut the over sized turkey, giving us each a few slices. We ate our supper in a somewhat comfortable silence. I wasn't much in the mood for small talk, so I just asked Lottie a few questions that I knew would require her to talk for a while. I enjoyed listening to her stories though; they kept my mind off of Harry for a little bit.

It was almost one in the morning when Lottie finally called it a night, wishing us each sweet dreams with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. That left my dad and I alone, curled up on opposite ends of the couch, he with a beer and me with a steaming cup of tea that would probably keep me awake half the night. Oh well, the chances of me sleeping a wink were slim to none anyways.

"Are you alright, son? You seem upset. Not the Louis I'm used to," my dad asked seriously after I had been staring at a random spot in the wall for what seemed like hours. I turned towards him to see him watching me with a quirked eyebrow, a worried crease apparent on his shoulder.

I was usually quite open with my father. We talked a lot when I was a child since he played the role of my father and a part time mother. I had no trouble discussing the most embarrassing things, or the most serious ones, like when I decided to come out. I remember him being shocked, but he was so glad I was proud and confident enough to be who I was and promised to respect me no matter what decisions I made in life. Luckily, he had managed to keep that promise throughout the years.

Somehow, though, talking to him about Harry seemed impossible. I could barely sort out my feelings myself, let alone share them with my father. So, for one of the first times ever, I told a lie to my father.

"It's nothing, dad. I've just been really stressed at work. Judy has got me doing loads of paperwork later to prep for the New Year and I've just been going bonkers. Sorry I'm worrying you," I forced a smile, taking the last few sips of my tea before bringing the mug to the dishwasher. The concern on my father's face was still visible, as if he sensed my lie. It hurt to see him like that, and I couldn't bare it any longer, so with one final hug I wished him a goodnight and promised him that everything was fine.

The following morning I had bags under my eyes and the lack of sleep was just destroying me. I forced myself to get out of bed and prepare some fried eggs for my family so that my dad would believe I was already feeling better. I didn't need him questioning me anymore; particularly after spending the rest of the night curled up in my bed silently sobbing into my pillow. I didn't understand what was going on in my life anymore. Everything seemed like a giant puzzle that I just couldn't put together.

"Good morning," a female voice startled me as my sister stepped into the kitchen behind me, curled up in the comforter she dragged off of the guest bed to keep warm.

"Hey sis, I made you some eggs," I said, pointing my spatula to the pan cooling off on the corner of the stove top. She laughed and shook her head, saying that she refused to eat my cooking. I didn't cook very often, or very well. Last time I made us all noodles, I barely boiled them and they were all crunchy. Plus, the sauce I had attempted to make was shit as well.

"Fine then, more for me," I growled and grabbed a fork, stabbing the egg and eating a piece of it. I chewed it slowly, trying to savour the - oh gosh. It tasted bloody horrible. It was mushy and half cooked, and to my sisters pleasure I ran to the sink and spat it out quickly.

"See, you're a terrible cook," she yelled, sticking her tongue out at me. Not long after, my father trotted down the stairs and rolled his eyes at my shameful attempt to make a breakfast. Instead, he baked us some fresh pancakes that we all devoured in sweet maple syrup. I would be the first to admit they tasted much better than my eggs.

We spent the day walking around town. Lottie insisted on spending money on the incredible sales, so we followed her around as she tried on countless articles of clothing, purchasing much more than necessary as my father and I watched with dissaproving glares. She was a teenage girl though, so that was perfectly normal behaviour I guess. I also took them to my favourite coffee shop for lunch and then to the park where we strolled around in the freezing cold, the snow crunching beneath our feet. I managed to forget Harry and the previous days events until I found myself alone in bed again, knowing I'd more likely never get to feel his arms wrapped around me ever again.

His curly hair and piercingly bright green eyes kept racking my brain, keeping me awake. I tossed and turned, feeling my eyelids getting heavy but never enough to reach slumber. I had to talk to him. Better yet, I had to see him. But he'd be gone until at least tomorrow. I wanted to tell him how I really felt, explain what happened that night, or at least attempt to.

I reached for my phone on my bed, ignoring the fact that it was past two in the morning and that most people would be asleep by this time. I scanned through my contacts until I found his nickname 'Curly' and clicked it, urgently typing a text.

_Harry, I don't even know what went wrong the other night, but I miss you so fucking much. It's only been two days, I know, and I must sound pretty pathetic but I feel so empty without you. I don't understand what's going on Harry, but I really want to talk to you. Love, Lou._

I hovered my finger over the send button, debating whether to send the message or not. It seemed so risky, so daring, and just what I needed him to hear right now, but I didn't have the nerve to send it. I pressed cancel, and tried typing a new message instead.

_Can we talk?_

I quickly deleted that one as well, deciding that it was much too subtle and emotionless.I needed Harry to know I felt something special between us, and that wouldn't help.

_I love you, too._

That was the last message I typed before groaning, wishing I could ignore the man in the back of my head telling me it would be a bad idea to press send, but I couldn't. He was overpowering my brain, so instead I rolled over and shut my phone off, refusing to send anything at all. Plus, what if he didn't answer? Wouldn't that just hurt even more?

The following afternoon I was back at the train station, wishing my sister and father a goodbye because my dad had to return to work the next day. It hurt seeing them walk away and know that I'd be alone again. Let's be honest, I had no real friends. I just had a ton of friends I went out with occasionally, but nobody knew me. Hell, Harry didn't even know me. I tended to keep to myself and sometimes regretted it. Keeping things bottled up inside seemed to often have its consequences.

I lounged around my apartment, loathing in my own self-pity as I thought over my pathetic life until I remembered something. The key. Harry's key. The one I had kept in my back pocket instead of returning, because I wanted to take this as an opportunity to see him again. I would return it personally and talk to him. I was afraid, so fucking afraid, but maybe if I allowed myself to admit my feelings to Harry I'd feel better about myself.

I didn't know why I had the sudden impulse to go see him, but I couldn't sit still any longer. I had no clue when he was getting home from his mum's, but I'd find out soon I suppose. Grabbing my jacket and a beanie I quickly shuffled out of my apartment, hoping I wouldn't regret this later on and attempting to tune out the voice in the back of my head telling me that I was making a mistake.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

I woke up early from a cold breeze hitting my body and giving me goose bumps all over. My eyes wandered across the room and landed on Louis' frail body next to me. He had stolen all the covers and was wrapped up in them, his hands clutching on the black and white duvet and tucked under his cheek. My breathing hitched as I thought of the reason for my restless sleep. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been by telling him I love him. I suddenly wasn't even sure if it was love that I felt for him. Can you even love someone if you don't know him properly? Panic hit me hard. I was pretty sure that he didn't react in any way when those three words had left my mouth, but maybe he had heard them. And if he did, it was definitely over between us. He'd never feel the same for me and I couldn't bear to keep this game of ours up. If I was absolutely honest to myself, I had already fallen way too deep, and if I wanted to come out of it without being absolutely shattered, I had to stop this now. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes, willing the tears that were threatening to spill to go away. I gulped and brought my fingers to his face, brushing his fringe away from his forehead before I leaned in to press one last kiss on his lips. He stirred a little in his sleep, so I quickly pulled away, not wanting him to wake up before I was gone.

I got dressed and grabbed the suitcase I'd packed yesterday, trying to close the bedroom door behind me as silently as I could. As I walked into the kitchen, my stomach twisted into a knot. On the table were the remnants of Louis' birthday cake together with the candles I'd bought. I picked up the garbage bin and quickly swiped all of the cake and the candles into it. I didn't want to be reminded of Louis when I'd come back from home in two days. Originally I had planned to take a train in the afternoon, but right now, I just wanted to get out of here, away from Louis and away from my feelings for him. There was no use in trying to eat something, my stomach felt as if it was up in my throat and my mum would start stuffing me as soon as I arrived anyway, so I just grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to leave a note for Louis.

My sight went blurry and I furiously wiped the tears from my cheeks. I wasn't going to crumble right here and right now; I'd have more than enough time for that on my way home. The pen hovered over the paper as I tried to come up with what I was going to write. Nothing seemed good, I didn't want to explain anything, or rather, I couldn't. It'd be better if I just broke it off, simple and clean, without any explanations. _I had to leave. Close the door behind you and leave the key in the letter box. X Harry._

It was a crappy message but it was the best I could come up with right now. I put it on the counter where he'd find it if he woke up, not daring to go back into the bedroom to put the note on my pillow or any other cliché place. Suppressing the urge to take one last look at him, I shrugged my coat on, grabbed gloves, a scarf and a beanie and hurried outside. Maybe I'd manage to get on the train home that left in half an hour if I was quick.

 

 

I forced a smile as I thanked to conductor for allowing me to jump on the train right before the doors closed and pushed through the aisle to find a seat. The train was pretty much empty, as was to be expected on Christmas morning, and if anything I was happy about it. The heater units blew hot air at me so I unbuttoned my coat, taking it off before I pulled my beanie off. I put it on the small table in front of me and realised that it was one of Louis'. Fuck. Tears sprung into my eyes once more and I didn't even have the energy to wipe them away. They just kept rolling down, soaking my sleeves as I rested my face on top of them.

When the train's arrival in Cheshire was announced, I got up and finally wiped the wetness away from my cheeks before I pulled down my luggage and got dressed to face the cold again, my suitcase in one hand and the beanie scrunched up in the other.

I got off the train and walked towards a garbage can on the platform, my hand with the beanie in it hovering over it before I eventually pulled it back and stuffed the beanie in my coat pocket, deciding it wouldn't hurt to keep some memorabilia from our nine month liaison.

I hadn't called my mum to alert her of my early arrival so I either had to wait for the bus or walk half an hour to get home. The bus wouldn't come for a while, so I decided to walk, hoping I'd be able to pull myself somewhat together before I got home.

 

“Harry!” my mum gushed as she opened the door, pulling me into a hug even before she let me inside. She pulled back and stretched her arms to take a good look at me.

“Mum!” I grumbled as she narrowed her eyes, taking me in thoroughly.

“Harry are you okay? You look horrible.”

“Gee thanks mum, good to see you too.” I answered, unable to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

“Alright alright, I won't ask any more questions. But do come inside baby, before the entire house cools down.”

 

As predicted, she hardly gave me time to put my suitcase in my old room before she started stuffing me with food. It wasn't even noon and my stomach felt as if it would explode. My dad and my sister, who had arrived yesterday, joined us an hour after my arrival, both having slept in a bit after yesterday's celebrations. Gemma, mum and dad shared different stories about their work, about neighbours and others we knew around town, but I hardly listened. My thoughts kept going to Louis. Would he have woken up by now? Would he have found my note? Was he mad at me? Did he hear me after all? What if he did? And what if he didn't? He probably wouldn't understand why I'd left that sudden. I felt a little dizzy and nauseous at the idea of him calling me to find out what was going on and retrieved my phone from my pocket, switching it off to avoid any texts or calls from him.

Finally lunch was served, providing me with a welcome distraction from Louis. I usually didn't mind how he occupied my mind most of the time, but right now, I hated it with a passion. I stuffed myself with rolls, croissants and a selection of Danish that mum had bought at the local bakery and answered the questions my family fired at me. I was slowly starting to get into Christmas spirits when we finished lunch. I got up to gather our plates and help my mum to help with the dishes. I was right in the doorway to the kitchen, allowing my mum to go in first when Gemma shrieked through the entire room. “You're under the mistletoe together! Kiss!” I didn't even know why my mum bothered to put up mistletoe since it was only the four of us and we were family, but she did it every year. I gulped, suddenly reminded of the conversation I'd had with Louis about our plans for the holidays. How he had suggested putting up mistletoe all over our flat to provide me with opportunities to kiss Niall. Tears welled up in my eyes for yet another time and I sensed that I wouldn't be able to keep them back. I dropped the plates in the sink and mumbled something about being dizzy before I fled upstairs to my room. As I ran through the living room, I could feel three pairs of eyes burning into my back, but I couldn't bear to explain anything right now. The only thing that occupied my mind was Louis. Every little thing reminded me of him, I constantly saw his clear blue eyes, his messed up hair in the mornings and that crazy sexy smile of his.

I flung myself on top of my duvet and cried some more, until my throat was sore and my eyes stung. It must've been halfway through the afternoon when a knock sounded on my door. I didn't reply, hoping against better judgement that they would just leave me alone, but half a minute later, the door opened anyway, revealing my mum with a small tray, two smoking cups of tea and a plate of cookies on it.

She put the tray on my empty desk, and made a remark about the fact that it never had been empty when I still lived here before she sat down on the bed, her hand rubbing my back in a comforting way.

“Harry... It's not hard to tell there's something wrong. And even if you decide not to tell us, just know that we're here for you, okay? We won't judge you or hate you or whatever. No matter what's wrong, you'll always be our little Hazzabear.”

I managed a little smile at my old nickname and nodded, my voice croaky when I replied.

“I know. Sorry for ruining Christmas.”

“Oh babe, don't you worry about that. We're just worried about you.” She hesitated and smiled slightly as I turned to face her, my knees bent and my hands propped up under my soaked pillow. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shrugged but then shook my head. “No, not now. Right now I just want to forget.”

“Okay.”

I sat up and leaned against the wall, smiling a bit as mum handed me my cup of tea before she scooted further backwards to sit next to me. We just sat there for a while, sipping our tea and nibbling my mum's homemade cookies. I rested my head on her shoulder and wished I could go back to being just a small boy that didn't have any problems other than a broken crayon as her hand weaved though my curls. If I closed my eyes, maybe I could believe for a minute that I was just that careless little boy. It didn't work, because as soon as I closed my eyes and concentrated on mum's fingers touching my scalp, I thought of Louis doing the same, of his warm scent engulfing me when we woke up, so I opened them again and willed myself to try to enjoy Christmas the best I could.

“Come on mum, let's go downstairs and open our gifts.”

 

The rest of the day, I succeeded in keeping myself composed, and even produced a genuine smile or two while we exchanged gifts. Gemma got me a new leather book bag, showing off just how much money she made with her posh job over in Liverpool, and mum and dad got me a bunch of new clothes and a pair of brown leather Converse. I felt a bit uncomfortable with the gifts I'd gotten for them as they all seemed to have spent fortunes on their gifts for me, but they all seemed happy with them, so it was all good. Even over dinner, I managed not to think of Louis for most of the time as we told each other memories from our childhood, and of course that one story of when I had bitten into the nose of one of mum's friends' dog had to be told. The stupid animal was all white, with a black nose, which made it look like liquorice, and I happened to love liquorice so I tried to bite it off. I wasn't even three years old, you could hardly blame me. Mum never saw that friend of hers again though, as she refused to let me apologise to the dog and its owner. She just said it was her own fault for letting her dog sit under the table while I was crawling around.

Gemma was in stitches by the time the story was finished and even I chuckled a couple of times, but maybe the fact that mum kept my wine glass always full did something to that as well. I was tipsy to say the least by the time I went to bed, and let mum press a sloppy kiss on my cheek before I dragged myself to my bedroom, thankful that the alcohol didn't allow me to think any more and just fell asleep right away.

 

I slept way past noon on Boxing Day, and I was glad too. Boxing Day was always a bit empty and boring, and therefore gave me lots of opportunities to let my thoughts wander to Louis. Would he even think of me right now? Or had he already forgotten about me, and moved on to the next prey to shag. I really tried not to think of him, but it seemed like everything reminded me of some memory I shared with him. I went into the kitchen, rubbing my temples in an attempt to soothe the throbbing headache caused by the overdose of wine from yesterday evening. Mum was sitting at the kitchen table, apparently the only one awake, or the only one around the house, interrupting her newspaper reading to look up at me.

“Goodmorning dear, would you like some breakfast?”

I groaned, my stomach feeling uneasy at the thought of food and shook my head lightly. Mum just smiled and poured me a cup of tea, accompanying it with two painkillers before she handed it over. I thanked her and swallowed the pills, feeling them slid down my throat as I took a sip of the hot tea once I sat down, my head resting in my palms, elbows propped up on the table.

“Harry...” she sounded hesitant, as if she didn’t want to invade, and I knew that was the fact. She never forced me to talk about anything, yet she always found a way to make me spill the beans in the end. “It’s not about Niall, is it?” Mum had known about my feelings for my best mate for ages, she had just guessed when I told her I was gay, and due to my bright red cheeks it was no use trying to deny it. She’d never meddled in it though, leaving it to me to sort things out, providing me with advice when I asked for it but never more than that.

I shook my head and snorted. “No mum, it’s not about Niall.”

“Oh, okay, that’s good. I was worried something had come up between you two, since you’ve always been such good friends, it’d be a shame.”

“We still are mum, no worries.” She smiled and ran a hand through my messy curls, her fingers slipping across my cheek when she noticed my breath hitching. “In fact, I think I’m over him now. Finally.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I uh, I kind of met someone, in March. His name’s Louis.” Mum put her newspaper away and grabbed one of my hands, her thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of it. I took another deep breath and started telling her everything. Except maybe some minor details that were better kept between my bedroom walls.

“So I take it he was the reason you came home only yesterday?” mum asked, picking up the tea pot to refill our cups.

“Yeah, it’s his birthday on Christmas Eve, and I wanted to celebrate it with him. Make his birthday worthwhile for once. He usually doesn’t celebrate it much, since his mum left them just after his 7thbirthday.” I sighed, trying to ignore my throat closing up and my eyes stinging after talking about Louis for half an hour.

“Oh, that’s really nice of you Harry.” She smiled.

“Except that I messed up completely when we went to sleep. I told him I love him, and I know it’s true, I’ve tried to deny it for such a long time, but I know it’s true. But I also know he’ll never love me back, and even though I’m pretty sure he didn’t hear me, I just... I can’t do this anymore. I can’t hang out with him, even if we stop this pretending to date thing to make Niall jealous and ignore my feelings for him. I’ve done that for far too long with Niall and it’s just no good. I need to get over him, so I told him to drop his key in the letter box and just left.”

“You told him?” mum asked suspiciously.

“Well, not so much told him. Left him a note and got out of London as quickly as I could manage,” I admitted.

“Oh god Harry... Have you heard from him since?”she asked, grabbing one of my hands between hers.

I shook my head. “No, I’ve shut off my phone yesterday so he couldn’t call me and I wouldn’t see his texts.”

She hummed in reply, and to be honest there wasn’t much that could be said. “Well, whatever it is you decide on, or whatever happens, just know you can always talk to us, okay dear?”

“Yeah, thanks mum.” I smiled and leaned in to the kiss she pressed on my cheek.

“Okay. How about we go for a nice long walk this afternoon? Your dad and Gemma should be back soon so we could drive out to the forest if you’d like.”

The idea was appealing, those long walks always managed to get my thoughts sorted, and at least I wouldn’t sit inside for the entire afternoon, procrastinating and thinking of him. I agreed and went upstairs to change into something warmer, finding my phone on my desk as soon as I walked into my room.

I hesitated as I picked it up, turning it around in my hands a couple of times before I pressed the button on top, the screen lighting up before I had to type in my pin code. I waited for a while, but when no notifications appeared, I put it down on my desk again, picking out the clothes I wanted to wear today. I kept looking over at my desk, hoping I’d see the screen light up, but it never did. No messages, no missed calls. I put it in my jeans pocket anyway, perhaps the service was a little dodgy due to all Christmas wishes being sent and I’d get something later on in the afternoon.

I imagined my phone buzzing in my pocket at least 17 times during our walk, but it was never a real buzz. He didn’t send me anything, not even a Merry Christmas text. Then again, my note had been quite harsh, so he was probably mad at me. And maybe this was all for the best, if we didn’t have any contact anymore, I could just get over him and move on. But why did it hurt so bloody much then? Why did it feel like there was a giant hole in the middle of my chest? I got drunk again over dinner, just to make sure that he at least wouldn't haunt me in my dreams and went to bed early. My phone showed a notification of a new text message when I went to bed, but my heart sunk when I saw it was only Niall’s, letting me know that he was back in London already.

I went home early the next day, not knowing what to do with myself, I just wanted to go home, be alone and bury myself under my covers. Finally I could allow myself to feel pathetic and sorry for myself for getting into this stupid game of his that far. Mum hugged me goodbye and assured me once more that I was always welcome at home and that I could talk to her about anything. I just nodded and got on the train, waving back as the train left the station, leaving me alone with my thoughts and my self-pity.

I took a taxi back to the apartment, too tired to walk or wait for the bus to arrive, and suddenly it dawned on me that Niall would probably be there when I arrived. I took a look in the mirror in the hall downstairs and decided I could easily tell him I was sick and wanted to sleep, I obviously looked bad enough for him to believe it. Once upstairs, I sighed as I realised I hadn't checked the letter box to retrieve Louis' key but I wasn't going to go back downstairs now that I was so close to my bed, so I just searched for my own keys and turned the right one in the lock, pulling my suitcase behind me as I walked into the hallway of our apartment.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

I was slightly winded when I finally reached the familiar apartment complex, undoubtedly due to the speed walking I had done to get out of the cold. It was chilly outside, typical December weather, and there was a light snowfall gracing the sky. If I weren't distracted with thoughts of the curly haired bloke, I may have thought it was breathtakingly beautiful; the way the snow shone bright under the streetlights after the setting sun vanished, the murky evening sky replacing it.

 

I stepped into the doorway and shook my body, hoping to free it of the snow. My jacket was more than likely drenched and would be uncomfortable when I slipped it on again later tonight. I pulled the beanie off of my head to shake it a few times as well before slipping my hand into the back pocket of my dark jeans, retrieving the key. I was petrified. I was coming into his apartment without any clue what I was going to say to him. Was I supposed to apologize? I mean, was I even at fault? Was either of us? Our friendship wasn't supposed to be this complicated.

 

I sighed loudly, whispering a few words of encouragement to myself as I unlocked the first door. "Don't panic. Whatever happens; happens." I whispered, pushing open the glass door and heading up the stairs to find their apartment. My hands were trembling, I couldn't help it. They felt clammy and shaky and my heavy breathing was probably audible throughout the entire building. Writing exams was less nerve wracking then this, for God's sakes, and I always got all jittery during them.

 

I didn't bother knocking, afraid that if he was home he'd ignore me and leave me pleading for entrance at the door - how humiliating would that be? Instead, I used the second key on the key chain to unlock the dead bolt and let myself in. If he was here, I wouldn't leave without giving and receiving a proper explanation of what had been going on these past few days, because frankly all this thinking was frying my brain. I needed to know what was going on in his head as well.

 

It was warm in the house, and I felt guilty knowing I must have left the heat on a few days prior, costing Harry a few pounds in rent that he surely could have saved. I glanced around; noticing there was nobody in the living room, so I took my boots off and placed them on the mat before quickly slipping my jacket off as well and hanging it on the coat rack next to the door.

 

"Oh, Harry! You're home early," I heard a voice shout from what I assumed was the kitchen. I instantly froze, holding my breath because it wasn't Harry's husky, deep, beautiful raspy voice. Shit. I hadn't even considered the fact that Niall would be returning home today as well. I didn't know what to reply, so I just followed his voice instead. I walked quietly into the kitchen to see Niall seated at the kitchen table, candles lit in the middle of it. Across from him sat the adorable petite, brown haired girl I recognized from one of my last visits before the holidays.

 

"It's just me," I muttered, and Niall's head shot up in surprise. He had his cutlery in his hands as he tried to cut a piece of steak, but put it down when he spotted me, wiping his hands with a napkin and pacing towards me. The girl looked down nervously, swirling her fork through the food on her plate.

 

"Hey, buddy. What are you doin' here?" He smiled, pulling me in for a hug. I simply shrugged my shoulders as I returned the embrace, trying to think of a reasonable explanation, all while avoiding the fact that Harry had no idea I was paying them a visit.

 

"Just wanted to see you both, I guess," I forced a smile, hoping the swelling around my eyes had gone down after a few hours of countless tears slipping out of them earlier.

 

"You mean you wanted to see Harry?" Niall winked, patting me on the shoulder. He took a step back and leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms over his chest as he chuckled. I bit my lip and looked down, resisting the urge to cry once again. I was so pathetically emotional these past few days.

 

I assumed Niall had no clue what was going between the two of us. He was clueless of our circumstance; how we have been avoiding texting or calling each other despite the fact that we never used to go an hour without at least dropping a quick message. It was basically our way of reminding the other that we were still thinking of each other, even when we were apart. It seemed cute and romantic, but even the best of friends did that all the time, so neither of us thought too much of it.

 

"Yeah, of course," I choked out, looking up at him through my long lashes. "How were your holidays?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

 

"Well, it was nice seeing me mum again, but she was too busy playing hostess the entire time to really pay attention to me. She cooked a wicked roast though, it was delicious. Oh, and then I came home to share a meal with Jill. Hey, darling," Niall said to her and her head instantly shot up, glancing at both of us standing in the middle of the kitchen. She was still sat at the table, staring at her food. "This is Louis. Lou, this is Jill - my girlfriend."

 

Niall said the last word with a huge grin, and I was actually quite surprised. He hasn't exactly come off as the type to keep a relationship since we met, but I was proud of him for giving it a go. Then I thought of Harry and my heart broke for him. How would he feel knowing the man he loved was moving on? Perhaps as shitty as I've felt since waking up alone on Christmas morning.

 

"Hello," she mumbled with a smile. "How are you?"

 

"I'm alright, thank you," I lied, forcing a smile in return. "Sorry to be a bother and disrupt your little date."

 

"No, it's not a problem Lou. We've had the day to ourselves anyways. Plus, I sure missed you," Niall teased, "so I'm glad you stopped by."

 

I laughed nervously, stopping myself from continuously turning my gaze to the doorway. I couldn't decide whether I wanted Harry to walk through that door way soon, or if I wanted to walk back out of it. The longer I stayed here, the tighter the knot in my stomach and chest became and I found myself drumming my foot on the ground hastily, unable to stand still any longer.

 

"Harry might be another couple of hours," Niall said, unexpectedly bringing the conversation back to that danger zone where my emotions weren't quite in check. He must have noticed my angst and assumed I was excited, like perhaps I just really wanted to see Harry. The blonde boy turned to fridge and opened it, fetching out two cans of beer and holding one out for me.

 

"I'm not quite sure when his train is coming in, but here, just have a pint and make yourself at home. You practically live here when Harry's around, anyways," Niall smiled, and I almost felt guilty for being unable to enjoy his presence at the moment.

 

"No, it's alright," I said, waving my hand in front of me, refusing the beer that would have definitely calmed me down once the buzz kicked in. "Perhaps I should go, I could always come back another time," I muffled, because I was beginning to second guess my decision to visit in the first place. Of course Niall would mention to his best mate that I had paid them a visit, and then left without any reason, but perhaps that would be less humiliating then waiting around anyways. I had no clue why I had dropped by, because I still had absolutely no inkling of how I felt anymore and what I would possibly say once Harry showed up.

 

"No, Louis, don't leave. Really, you're not being a bother," Niall insisted, shaking the beer can in front of me again.

 

"No, I just - tell Harry to give me a call, alright?" I said, turning on my heels to hurry out of the kitchen. I grabbed my wet jacket off the rack, wincing when I slipped it on felt the cold seeping onto my skin. I bent down to grab my boots when suddenly there was the loud clatter of a door behind me.

 

"Niall, you home? I've got a gift for you from my mum!" I heard that familiar voice shout, my breath hitching as I jolted into an upright position. My left boot slipped out of my grasp and bounced onto the floor as my eyes met those of the taller boy now standing before me, carrying an oversized luggage tightly on his side. My beanie was pulled snuggly around his head of messy curls, bringing a new stab to my chest as he eyed me.

 

"Louis?"

 


	16. Chapter Fifteen

I froze dead in my tracks and pulled my -his- slightly moist beanie off of my head before I shook my curls. I looked him up and down, he had his wet coat on and looked like he was pulling on his boots.

He looked at me like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

"Uh, hi." He mumbled. "I uh, I was just about to leave." He managed a small and painfully obvious fake smile and continued to tie his laces, crouching down on the mat to do so. It was only then that I noticed Niall standing behind him, looking confused at the scene in front of him. He had the brunette girl from earlier on his hand, she was looking mighty uncomfortable and I couldn't exactly blame her for that.

"Uhm, Jill, why don't we go to my room huh?" Niall spoke right when Louis got up to change feet, pulling his right boot on as well. She smiled at me apologetically and I was shaken out of my haze when Niall brushed past me, nudging my arm on his way. I shot forward and put my hand on Louis' shoulder. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do or say, but my gut feeling told me that I shouldn't let him go. Not now, not if I ever wanted to fix whatever there was to fix.

He winced at my touch and I hated it, it made me pull my hand back but at least he didn't continue to tie his laces.

"Stay, please." I spoke, my voice barely a whisper. His gaze rested on his shoe, his hands uselessly at his side and I knew he was probably biting his lip.

"Why?" he croaked, his voice sounded broken, vulnerable and maybe even a little scared.

I was taken aback, my breath hitching in my throat before I was able to take another breath and speak again.

"We should at least talk about this. I hate the way things are between us now." I managed to say and finally he looked up at me, his face pale, something I had somehow missed before and his blue eyes were dull, not shining and full of life as I was used to.

"Me too." he whispered, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. 

I crouched down, biting my lip under his gaze as my trembling fingers reached out for his laces, untying the knot and loosening them so he could slip his foot out before I did the same to his left foot. He pulled his boots off and shivered as my fingers brushed his shoulders when I took off his wet coat before I did the same with mine, hanging them on the overloaded coat rack. My hand rested on his back between his shoulder blades, the only way to guide him I deemed safe right now as I steered him towards the kitchen. I was in desperate need for a cup of tea to warm me up, and more importantly, to keep my hands occupied, and I was afraid he'd run off anyway if I left him alone in the living room.

He looked out of place as I filled the kettle and switched it on, rummaging through the cupboard to find two mugs, tea bags and sugar while I waited for the water to boil.

He didn't sit down, but he never managed to stay in one place either, he shuffled around the kitchen, going from the window to the wall next to the table while he avoided to come too close to where I was standing at the counter.

"Here." I handed him his mug, two teaspoons of sugar already stirred into it and he followed me into the living room that was still glowing softly with the Christmas lights he had put up. Memories of the evening of his birthday suddenly flooded my brain but I shut them out, not wanting to go there now, it hurt too much.

I sat down on the couch, and seconds later he did the same, be it on the other side of it. We were quiet, as if we were both trying to figure out how to start this conversation that was already turning out to be so damn hard. The only sounds heard were the clanks of our spoons against the porcelain of our mugs and I was thinking hard about how to start.

"Why did you leave?" he was speaking so silently that it would've been hard to understand if I had been any further away. I hesitated, suddenly unsure of my reasons myself.

"I heard you, you know, the night before." I gulped, I had convinced myself over the past couple of days that he couldn't have heard, even though almost everything spoke against that. I sucked my upper lip into my mouth and bit down on it, trying to find a way to react, but he continued before I could fully grasp what he had said.

"I heard you. So why did you leave, when you just told me you love me?" 

He looked up at me, his eyes glistening with tears. He looked so tired, defeated even and I couldn't bear to keep looking at him. Instead I fixed my gaze on my hands that were rested in my lap, clutching my half empty mug as if my life depended on it. I took another sip before I replied, unsure of what words would tumble out of my mouth.

"I was scared, I suppose. I didn't think you heard me, because you didn't react in any way, but when I woke up, I realised just how true it was. That I love you, I mean. And that scared me. Because all you want from this, from us, is fun. It's all this stupid crazy game for you, and I knew that from the start and yet I somehow allowed myself to fall for you. And I fell hard. I just realised that I couldn't keep it up. I can't stand playing a game, not the game we played in the beginning, which basically consisted of us having some fun and physical... relief... together, and definitely not the boyfriend game we were playing to make Niall jealous." He didn't reply for a while, causing me to look up and search his face for any reaction. He was looking in front of him, at one of the vases filled with lights and took another sip while he squinted his eyes.

"What about Niall? I mean, what about your feelings for him?" he sounded distant and even a bit harsh. 

I suppressed a flinch at his words and managed to just shrug.

"They disappeared at some point along the way. I don't recall when it happened exactly, but they're just gone. I finally realised Niall will never be mine, and it doesn't even matter anymore. He's my best friend, he'll always be and it's really all I need him to be." I was pleasantly surprised that my voice stayed even throughout my explanation, it didn't break or return to a whisper like I had feared. Louis' head turned quickly so he was facing me and he narrowed his eyes as he studied my face, as if he suspected that I wasn't being truthful.

"Really? You don't love him anymore?" his voice was softer now, and I almost smiled at the vulnerability that oozed from his every pore, but I somehow knew that would scare him away again.

"Not in that way, no."

"Oh." He paused for a minute or so, and it took me the greatest effort not to start rambling or say or do something stupid but just stay still, my eyes trained on his hands in his lap. "Oh."

"Yeah. Not that this is much better though, I know you could never love me back. But I was kind of hoping that maybe we could try and be friends? I mean, without the benefits this time, I don't think I can handle that, not anymore. It would just slowly rip me to pieces and it'd be even worse than with Niall, I suppose."

"What if I did?"

"Huh?"

"Listen, Harry, I suppose I owe you some explanation as well." He sighed and eyed his empty cup. "You want a refill as well?" I nodded and sat back on the couch, waiting for him to return with two new steaming cups of tea.

He came back and handed me my hot mug, putting down a packet of chocolate chip cookies he apparently found in one of our cupboards on the coffee table in front of us before he took his seat again and sighed.

"Okay. I don't know where to start but I'll just try to tell it in a way that it makes the most possible sense, just hear me out, please?" He sounded nervous and he was fidgeting in his seat, his hand reaching out for a cookie to nibble on. I nodded and took a cookie myself, suddenly feeling hungry and gulfing it down in only two bites before I grabbed another one, turning myself so I was comfortable in my seat to listen to him.

"Right, so I already told you about my mother leaving us on Boxing day, when I was 7, right?" I nodded again.

"Lottie was only a baby back then, so I like to believe she came out of that rather unharmed. Unlike me, I suppose." He was staring either in front of him, or at his hands, still holding his cup while talking, his voice sounding strained and sad. "I always believed that my parents were truly in love, that they were the happiest couple alive, like the ones they told me about in fairy tales when they put me to bed. But then she left, with that 'friend from work'." He scowled as he made quotation marks in the air. 

If the situation was any different, I'd have smiled at his scowl, but right now, there honestly was no reason to smile.

"I didn't see much of the guy, except for his stupid head of curls when he got out of the car to put my mother's luggage in the trunk right before they drove off. I remember her kissing the top of my head as if she was only leaving for a short trip to the stores, but then she never came back. My aunt came by later on, and she took me and Lottie with her for a couple of days. We left dad a sobbing mess at the kitchen table, but when we returned home, it was as if our mother had never been there."

I bit my lip when he wiped a stray tear with his sleeve, his hands curled up around the hem of his sleeves.

"I decided that true love couldn't exist right then and there, although I gave a couple of relationships a try when I was younger. Without much success, of course, and when I moved here, to London, I got a job and decided it was easier to keep to myself. I just shut myself off from everyone around me and had nothing but fun when I wasn't working. I went out and had a one night stand every now and then, sometimes a longer affair with the same guy, but never more than that, never anything that involved emotional attachment."

"And you never did guys with curly hair." I added, suddenly able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

He smiled softly as he looked at me and nodded. "Yeah." He turned around as well and leaned his back at the armrest of the couch, crossing his legs in front of him.

"You made me bend my rules in more than one way." His hands lay in his lap, his fingers constantly fiddling with a loose thread on his jumper. "I love you too Harry."

I was sure I had heard him wrong, he couldn't just have said what I thought I heard.

"W-What?" I stuttered, my eyes wide as I looked at his frail figure in front of me.

"I love you too. I tried really, really hard not to fall for you, and when I had, I tried even harder to deny it, but there's no use. I've been broken these past few days without you, and regardless of the outcome, I had to tell you that I feel the same."

"I-I... Fuck Louis, I don't know what to say to that."

"I understand if you don't want to start a true relationship with me Harry, really I do. I'm beyond broken and I can't expect you to want to fix me, if anyone can even fix me." He started, his hands gesturing wildly as he talked, a tell tale sign that he was nervous.

"Louis! Wait." I interrupted and scooted forward on the couch, our knees touching and my hands reaching out for his. Our fingers automatically laced together as our hands rested on our knees. "Are you saying that you not only love me as well, but that you're willing to give a real relationship a try?"

"Well, yeah, I suppose I am saying that."

"Wow. Of all things you could've said today, this was what I was least expecting, to be honest." I breathed, squeezed his hands and took a deep breath before I continued. "But if you really, really want to go for it, then yes, of course I want so too."

"Really?" he looked up at me, his eyes filled with hope but also fear that I was somehow pulling a trick on him.

"Yes, Louis, really. I love you, I really do, and we both need some serious fixing, I suppose, but if anyone can fix me, it's you. You already started with getting rid of my feelings for Niall."

He chuckled, and for the first time tonight, his eyes lit up and I saw a glimpse of the confident Louis I knew. "Alright then, boyfriend," he grinned a toothy grin, his fingers squeezing mine as a giggle escaped his lips, making me giggle in turn.

I pulled on his hands and made him fall over, encouraging him to crawl on my lap. He wrapped his arm around my neck before he pressed a peck to my cheek and then pulled back, a blush gracing his cheeks, making him look cute, and young and vulnerable. "I love you," he said, as if he was tasting the words on his tongue, apparently liking it. "I love you, I love you, I love you." I sniggered at his cheekiness and pecked him on the lips. "And I, love you, Louis Tomlinson."

"Good, because now you are my boyfriend, Harry Styles." he grinned and it almost managed to disguise his tired features and his puffy eyes.

"Yes, I am. Care to celebrate with some take away?" His stomach growled as if on cue and he giggled, hiding his face in my neck in mock embarrassment. "Chinese okay?" I asked while I rubbed my cheek against his affectionately and I smiled as he nodded, pressed a kiss on his cheek before I gently nudged him to get off my lap so I could order our food.

"God, I ate far too much, again! Why is it that they always give out portions for three days?" I complained as I slumped down on the couch after dinner, the left overs neatly wrapped in the fridge. 

Louis sniggered as he walked over and sat on my lap, straddling me.

"You know, Harry, the real question is: why do you always attempt to eat those three day portions even if you know it's ridiculously much?" he teased, brushing a curl out of my eyes.

I stuck out my tongue and pulled him closer so his chest rested against mine, his cheek on my shoulder as his fingers combed through my hair.

"Obviously you being my boyfriend isn't going to stop you from making fun of me then, Tomlinson." I teased back and he just smiled.

"I can't change who I am, Styles." he muttered and I rolled my eyes before I kissed him on the lips lightly.

"Well, good, because I happen to like you this way." I replied and brushed through his hair, making him close his eyes in pleasure. We cuddled like that for a while, just being affectionate and lovey dovey without saying much else than the occasional I love you and an appreciative hum when the  

other did something pleasurable.

"Is it silly that I am nervous Harry?" he asked suddenly, his voice quiet and small.

"Nervous about what?" I asked, not getting what he was going on about.

"About... sleeping together. I mean, we've done it so many times before, and I know we both enjoyed those times, and still, it feels different now. It makes me nervous."

A smile pulled on my lips as I pulled him up, my hands cupping his cheeks as my thumbs brushed over his light stubble.

"It's not silly. It is different somehow. Even if it was always you and me, we never were really together. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to though Lou, I'm just as happy with cuddling tonight." I replied, lowering my hands to rest on his hips, his hands locking at the back of my neck.

"No, I want to, it's just... a bit weird. And I don't know how to start..." he said shyly, his eyes avoiding mine. 

I squeezed his hips, making him look up at me. "How about... this?" I asked as I leaned in, capturing his lips between mine, evoking a surprised moan from him before he kissed me back, his lips moving eagerly against mine.

"Yeah... that seems like a great way to start." he breathed against my lips before he lightly grazed his teeth over my bottom lip, tugging on it before he plunged his tongue in. The kiss seemed to last for hours and I enjoyed every second of it and regretted deeply that I couldn't breathe through my pores so I wouldn't have to pull back for air. He smiled at me as he pulled back, rubbing our noses together in a sweet eskimo kiss.

When I finally caught my breath again, I proposed to take it to my room to avoid Niall and his girlfriend walking in on us, causing yet another embarrassing moment and he nodded bashfully, crawling off my lap and taking my hand to pull me along with him.

He pulled me into my room and hurried across the room to put on the small lamp on my bedside table so we had some light without having to put on the harsh overhead lights, soon rushing back over to my side to take my hands in his. He stood on his tip toes, swinging our hands back and forth at our sides as his lips brushed against mine.

"I know I've said it a million times already, but I just like the sound of it," he smiled as he pulled back, bouncing on his heels. "I love you Harry."

I chuckled and bent down to kiss him once more. "And I love you, Louis." I felt him smile against my lips at first, but soon the kiss got heated, our tongues rubbing together, moans escaping from between our lips and breathing getting ragged right before he wrapped his arms securely around my neck and jumped up, his legs going around my waist and his feet locking behind my back.

I loved to carry him around and he knew it very well, and didn't hesitate to take advantage of it. I turned us around and pushed his back against the wall, squeezing him between the wall and my body, giving him the opportunity to move up and down so our crotches grinded together.

He let go of my lips and smirked as he felt my reaction to his movement through both our jeans, adding another roll of his hips and chuckling lowly as I groaned, throwing my head back on my neck both in frustration and pleasure. I realised too late that this gave him perfect access to my neck and he wasn't one to let that opportunity slip. He attacked the sensitive flesh with his lips, kissing, licking, nibbling and biting down on it, surely leaving deep purple lovebites on his way to my shoulders. I felt how my knees buckled and wasn't sure how long I'd manage to stay standing, so I gently pushed his face away from my neck, pressing soft kisses on his lips to make it clear that I was still eager to continue and secured his legs around my waist before I turned us around again and walked towards the bed, throwing him down on the mattress. I took off my shirt in one swift movement before I joined him on the bed, where he was watching me with a loving smile on his face, his eyes going up and down my body as he obviously liked what he saw.

"You think you can just lay there babe, being fully dressed and eyeraping me?" I whispered lowly, making his eyes go wide and lust flaring up inside them.

"I-I'm not eyeraping you!" he protested weakly, but his eyes gave away that was exactly what he had been doing. I smiled softly and kissed him before I spoke again, my breath ghosting over his lips as I never moved away from his face.

"I know you were, but I never said I mind you doing so love." I winked before locking lips again, swinging one of my legs over his thin body so I was straddling him and lowering my torso over his. My hands slid down to his hips and I got a hold of his shirt, pulling it up between our bodies slowly as I invaded his mouth, ravishing every inch of it, lifting myself off his body only briefly to get rid of the clothing.

"Call me that again." he whispered breathlessly, his eyes shining brightly in the dimly lit room. I pushed myself up slightly to look at him, not entirely sure what he meant, but then it clicked.

"I like it when you look at me like that love." I spoke slowly, wanting to thoroughly take in his facial expressions when I said it.

He growled into my ear as he pulled me down on top of him again and I could feel how much it turned him on. If it would always have this effect on him, I would make sure to call him love a lot.

His hands were already fumbling with my belt and before I knew it he was pulling my pants down, taking my socks off in one go. I protested at me being the only one practically naked and quickly pulled off his pants as well, leaving both of us in only our boxer briefs, panting heavily as our erections strained against the thin fabric separating them. It was my turn to attack his neck now and he let out a long moan as I sucked on his sweet spot, his hips pushing up against mine as he arched his back. I shifted a little to create some space for my hand to lightly brush over his chest and abs, leaving goosebumps and rippling muscles in its wake. He was too busy gasping to notice I lifted the waistband of his briefs, slipping my hand inside where it easily found his throbbing hard on.

His eyes shot open as my fingers closed around his shaft and I used my other hand to stroke his cheek lovingly before I leaned down to kiss him again, my fingers opening and closing slightly as my hand moved up and down his length.

"God Harry..." he breathed when he pulled out of the kiss to catch his breath, and I nuzzled my nose into his shoulder, never stopping my movements inside his briefs.

"Yes love?"

"You are so... so good, and so beautiful and I love you so much it hurts sometimes, but right now... unghhhh, yeah, that's ooooooohhhh," 

I smiled knowingly as I skillfully pushed some of his buttons that never failed me once. I suppose that was one of the advantages of starting a relationship with someone you physically knew so well already.

"Fuck Harry, would you stop for a split second and let me finish." I grinned, speeding up my hand movements, making him moan again before he took hold of my wrist.

"Finish what I was saying, you moron. I'd like to postpone the other type of finishing actually..." I chuckled but my smile faltered when I saw the seriousness on his face. "I love you so freaking much Harry, sometimes it hurts so bad, but at other times it makes me feel so damn good, you make me feel so damn good, and I don't mean only in bed, although those times are definitely good as well, very good even." He spoke in one breath but then had to pause to take another breath. I stopped him before he could speak up again, putting a finger on his lips.

"Shhhhh Louis. I know, okay, and I feel the same. But right now, all I want is to make you feel really, really good."

He smiled his breathtaking smile and nodded, leaning up to pull me down in a kiss with him, letting go of my hand so I could continue what I had started. He didn't even give me time to pull off his briefs, although I had to admit I deliberately did some things I knew he happened to like very much and I didn't do anything to help him postpone his climax. Rather on the contrary. I laid down next to him, stroking his face as he came down from his high, his legs jerking violently and his breathing uneven.

Once he had regained his composure somewhat, as much as he could with sticky briefs and just having climaxed like there was no tomorrow, he turned to his side and curled up into my side, his fingers trailing imaginary patterns on my chest. I pulled him closer and hummed into his hair as I sensed he just needed some peace and needed to be held right now.

"I love you so much Lou." I breathed quietly and I felt his arms tighten around my waist before they loosened again. He let go of me and shifted backwards so he could look at me before he kissed me, slowly sitting up on his knees as he pushed me on my back. His hands trailed over my chest, his fingernails scraping teasingly over my still straining erection through the fabric of my briefs. He lifted himself from the bed to take off his own boxers before he straddled me, assuring me that he was up for round two, judging from the state of his member. He leaned down to rest his torso on mine, our sweaty skins sliding against each other as he kissed up and down my neck, my collarbone, moving down to my chest to take my nipple into his mouth and suck and bite on it. All the time he took great care of rolling his hips against mine, my erection rubbing against his wonderfully luscious bum, still through my briefs. I couldn't keep in the moans wanting to escape any longer, it was all just too overwhelming and he swallowed some of them when he kissed me with open mouth, his tongue swiping across my lips and almost accidentally bumping into mine for a short but passionate encounter before he leaned down to my ear.

"Harry..." he sounded hesitant and I could hear him gulp before he continued, my hands rubbing up and down his back in a soothing yet needing way. "Harry, would you fuck me?"

I froze underneath him. I hadn't expected this, probably not ever and especially not this soon, not on our first time together as a couple.

"No, forget I even asked, sorry." he said hurriedly when he sensed my stillness, and he quickly continued what he was doing, his hands trailing down my sides to tug at the waistband of my pants.

"No, no, no, wait, Louis, hold on!" I quickly said, grabbing his hands and lacing our fingers together. I waited for him to look me in the eyes before I continued. "Do you really want this? I mean, are you sure?"

He bit his lip, looking shy and ashamed before he nodded fastly.

"Yeah. I'm sure." he said, sitting up straight as he kept his eyes trained on my lips rather than my eyes. I sat up as well, causing him to sit in my lap as I brought my hand up to his face, brushing a moist strand of hair out of his face.

"Then yes, of course I want to fuck you, Louis." I replied, looking him in the eyes, hoping he could see the burning love that was about to swallow me whole.

He smiled and trailed kisses along my jaw before he nibbled at my ear, his hot breath fanning over it as he quietly asked me if I had any lube. I pointed at the bedside table and he crawled off my lap to go get it while I finally got rid of my briefs, my erection quivering a bit as the cool air in the room hit it. He hesitated a bit when he got back, apparently as unsure of how exactly to do this as I was. I mean, of course I had done this before, but never with Louis, and never with someone I cared so deeply about. This obviously was a big deal for him, for us, since we had always silently agreed not to take it any further than hand- and blowjobs, and now, we were taking that next step.

"How- how do you want to do it Lou?" I asked quietly, my hands stroking his sides softly as he shivered under my touch.

He hesitated a little before he laid down on his back and pulled me on top of him, his legs spread so mine were in between his. I stroked his cheek again and he turned his face, kissing my fingers before he took three of them into his mouth, moving his tongue over and in between them, making sure they were all slicked up before I pulled them out of his mouth with a small pop. I brought them down as I replaced them with my mouth, kissing him hungrily as I reached for his entrance, my fingers trailing over the wrinkled, hot skin before I slowly pushed one finger inside up to the first knuckle. He gasped into the kiss before he pushed himself down on my finger, causing it to slide in further. It was a strange yet wonderful feeling, to be this intimate with him, and I loved how he kept his eyes open, never losing eye contact with me while I moved my finger in and out of him, curling it a little so it hit his most sensitive spot on its way out.

"More!" he demanded and I could do nothing but obey, adding a second finger and a third not long after that. 

It was easy to tell that he liked it, his erection was back in full force and his moans and groans did nothing to soften mine, rather on the contrary.

He reached up for my chest and his fingers spread over my abs as he spoke up again, between pants and moans. "I'm- I'm ready love." I gulped before I nodded and sat up on my knees, hands feverishly grabbing around at the sheets to locate the bottle of lube, popping it open and royally spreading the clear liquid all over my length and massaging some of it around his entrance with my fingers as well.

I lined myself up between his legs and looked at his face one last time for confirmation. He nodded and ran his hand through my hair, closing his eyes as he felt me press against his entrance. I slowly pushed forward, giving him the time to adjust before I started moving. He winced a little at first, but after holding still for a while, his face visibly relaxed and he opened his eyes and nodded for me to go on. It felt absolutely incredible to share this moment with him, to be inside him and feel him so close, in such an intimate way. I pulled him up a little while I leaned down so I could kiss him. I wanted so badly to show him, tell him I loved him while doing this. Somehow the angle at which I moved changed while doing that, and right in the middle of me whispering in his ear how much I loved him, I was interrupted with a loud moan next to my own ear, almost a scream really.

"Oh dear god, Harry, yes, right there!" he shouted out and how could I not keep moving in that same way so I would hit his most sensitive spot over and over again? I knew right then that I wouldn't last much longer, not with him clenching around me and shouting out his love for me and for what I was doing, but it was okay, because he obviously was close as well. He arched his back and let out a long stretched low moan as he started convulsing, sliding up and down my length slightly as I continued moving back and forth, allowing him to ride out his orgasm as I came closer to my own. His body was still lightly jerking when I finally released inside him, my knees giving out, causing me to fall down on top of him while I was still inside him. I waited until I had caught my breath before I pulled out and laid down next to him, smiling back at the beautiful boy at my side.

His fingers ran over my cheek, down my neck and collarbone, down my arm to play with my fingers before they went back up the same way. He let them trace the outlines of the bruises he had left before and smiled as he eyed them. "I love how I have marked you as mine. For real, this time."

"I am yours Louis, with or without lovebites to prove it." I replied truthfully, making him smile.

"And I am yours, Harry Styles. I love you." he answered softly.

"I know. I love you too Louis Tomlinson."

We pulled the sheets over our bodies and scooted closer to each others, arms and legs wrapping around the other's as we drifted off to sleep, dawn already breaking outside my window.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

I woke up the following morning to the feeling of hot breath fanning my ear. It tickled and made a gentle muffling noise, waking me from my peaceful slumber. I tried to turn away from the noise, but felt strong arms pull me back towards a broad chest. Suddenly, I remembered what happened last night and slowly opened my eyes to reveal the beautiful boy that I could finally call mine; all mine.

His arms were wrapped around me, and one of my hands was on his chest, the other clutched tightly underneath his arm, gripping his shoulder. I quickly realized that the fanning of breath was in fact him singing quietly into my ear. His cheek was pressed against mine, and I could feel his eyelashes flutter against my skin, and his lips brushed the skin near my ear.

" _Or did I dream that we were perfectly entwined?_

 _Like branches on a tree, or twigs caught on a vine_?"

My eyes were still squeezed shut, and I think Louis assumed I was still asleep. I forced them to stay closed and listened to his adorable mumbling, serenading me as I slept.

_"Like all those days and weeks and months I tried to steal a kiss_

_And all those sleepless nights and daydreams where I pictured this_

_I'm just the underdog who finally got my boy_

_And I am not afraid to show him to the world"_

 

One of his hands moved up to my curls, running his fingers through them soothingly. I sighed in pleasure, and he continued singing quietly, his voice giving me butterflies because it was so beautiful. Plus, the words he sang could be one of a number one hit on the radio; they were sweet and filled with love, sung in a breathtaking melody, sounding absolutely perfect as it left Louis' lips.

"Harry," he suddenly stopped singing, and I felt his other hand move up and down on my bare back in a soothing motion. "Curly," he mumbled again, and I heard his soft chuckle in my ear.

"I know you're awake, baby," he continued, and I couldn't stop the smile from growing on my lips. Without another word, I turned to lie on my back, pulling him on top of me. My eyes fluttered open and he gasped from his chest crushing mine, but instantly snuggled into it, one of his legs lying between mine. His naked body offered warmth that even a blanket wouldn't have been capable of. He used his arms as a sort of pillow for his chin on my chest and stared up at me with his beautiful, ocean blue eyes.

"I love you," he said, staring up at me as he crawled up slowly on the bed until his face was hovering above mine.

"I love you too," I replied, grabbing his cheeks and pulling his head down for a soft kiss, both of us unbothered by the other's morning breath.

His hands were on either side of my head now, and his bare bum sat near my crotch area. He noticed me tense, and a cheeky grin grew on his face as he bounced up and down three times.

"Jesus, Louis. Stop. It's too early for that." I growled, grabbing his hips to keep him still. He laughed and leaned down to catch my bottom lip between his.

"Last night was amazing," he said, pecking my lips one last time with a huge grin spread across his lips before rolling off of me and trudging into the bathroom, waddling a little bit. I sat up on the edge of the bed and leaned down to pick up a pair of boxers on the floor. I'm almost positive they were Louis', but it hardly mattered. I walked quietly to the kitchen, certain smugness in my step that had never been there before. It probably had something to do with the fact that the most beautiful person in the world was mine; nobody else's. I was the one that would wake up to him every morning, kiss his wonderful lips and comfort him in desperate times.

I filled the kettle half way with water before setting it on the stove top, turning it on so that the water would boil. I rummaged the cupboards for the box of Yorkshire Tea that Louis kept here and pulled it out, taking out two bags and placing them in mugs. I stood, watching the steam slowly rise out of the kettle, leaning back on the counter as I patiently waited for Louis to come join me for his tea.

Moments later, I heard running water and realised Louis must be taking a shower upstairs. I could probably go for one myself, but first I'd make Louis and I breakfast and-

"Harry!" I heard a door open, just a click that was barely audible as the kettle began to screech. "I'm scared. I need you to shower with me so that no monsters or serial killers get me. Please protect me?"

He said the last bit in an adorable, whiny, baby-like voice and I didn't have enough will power to refuse his offer. I chuckled at how perfectly immature he could be sometimes. He was like dating a child at times; cuddly, clever and spontaneous, also just completely and utterly adorable. I suppose breakfast could wait until after we both showered. I quickly turned the stove off, leaving our mugs on the counter until later, and hurried up the stairs.

The first thing I noticed was his head peeking out the bathroom door, smiling instantly at the sight of me coming to join him. "Nice boxers," he said with a smirk, raising and eye brow very cheekily.

"Oh _love_ ," I replied with an emphasis on the word I only recently found out drove him absolutely crazy. His cheeks reddened when I called him his new nickname, and he glanced at the ground shyly. "I'm assuming this is just another excuse to see me naked?" I continued, referring to his excuse to get me in the shower.

"Oh, Curly... you know just as much as I do that I don't need an excuse for that," he winked, and I made the final steps in the hallway towards him, forcing him to open the door to make room for me. He stood next to me, completely naked, and the shower was already running. "I love you."

I smiled at his words; much over used since yesterday, but I wasn't complaining. I reached out for his hands and intertwined our fingers, gracing my eyes over his striking body; my body. Then I looked into his hypnotizing blue eyes; my eyes. His lips captivated my attention next; my lips. The lips only I could kiss. The lips only I could feel against my skin, marking spots all over me because I was his too.

"I love you too."

His face lit up at my words and I leaned down to peck his nose, receiving a quiet laugh in response. His thumbs rubbed circles on the back of my hand and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his; feeling strangely love struck.

"Are we going to shower or just stand here staring at each other? Either one works, really, although I'm feeling rather gross after last night. I mean, of course I'd do it again I just feel sticky, but it was totally worth it and-"

I leaned down to peck his lips, interrupting his rambling before walking backwards, pulling him towards the shower. He reached behind me to tug on the door before I continued stepping back until we were both inside, the door closed behind us. The water was hot - the perfect temperature actually. Once closed in the shower, my arms immediately wrapped around him and his locked around my waist, both of us just standing under the stream of water, holding each other. Not long after, I felt a prodding at the base of my neck, and then Louis was singing in my ear again.

_"Truly, madly, deeply I am, foolishly completely falling_

_And somehow you kicked all my walls in, so baby say you'll always keep me_

_Truly, madly, crazy, deeply in love with you"_

It was so cheesy, yet so utterly romantic that I couldn't help but pull back to rest my forehead against his. I quickly realised that the poking on my neck were his fingers stroking my love bites again, still fresh from last night.

"I didn't know you sang," I mumbled with a smile, leaning down to peck his lips with three quick kisses.

"I don't," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, a short snicker leaving his lips.

The water streamed down on both of us, dripping down Louis' body in a very admirable way, tracing every curve of muscle in his skin. His hair had droplets clinging to it, but not many since his head wasn't directly under the shower head.

"Where's the soap, Harry?" Louis asked, letting go of me to look behind him on the shelf. I pointed to a bottle of body wash and he reached for it, squirting some into his hands. He scrubbed them together until the soap bubbled, and then stepped forward again, running his hands along my chest and down my torso, lathering it in the cleanser.

His hands rubbing my skin gave me goosebumps, and he smirked when I sighed as his hands trailed along my body, making circular motions. When he reached my shoulders, he gently squeezed and massaged them, making me close my eyes and sigh in pleasure as he released some of the tension there. "Turn around, sweetheart," he said, tugging on my shoulders a little bit so that I spun around, my back facing him.

I stared at the ground, watching the water slip down the drain as his hands began to do the same on my back.

"Oh, Harry," he said in a surprised tone, and I looked back at him. I rose an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. "You have small scratches all over your back," he laughed, and he ran a finger over one, causing a slight stinging pain.

"Well you were pretty shaken up last night, Lou."

His laugh sounded behind me again and I felt his lips press to the back of my neck, lingering for a few seconds before he ordered me to rinse off and asked me to clean him, which I gladly did before we washed each others hair and stepped out of the shower, drying off before running to the bedroom, shivering from the sudden change of temperature and rummaged through my dresser for clean clothes; Louis borrowing all of mine, of course.

The following evening, Louis and I had supper with Niall and his new girlfriend Jill. For the first time in ages, seeing Niall with a girl didn't make me feel sad or loathe them, jealousy errupting inside of me. Instead, I felt happy for him, but at the same time any feelings for Niall were pushed aside completely because all of my focus was on Louis. I found myself grinning at him across the dinner table, and of course Niall noticed as well.

"Earth to Harry," he said, waving his fork in front of my face. I closed my eyes and shook my head twice to slip out of my dreamland. Niall continued his conversation about his New Years Eve plans.

I felt a foot kick mine underneath the table before two of them locked around my ankle. I looked up to see Louis watching me cheekily and he sent me a wink that made my heart flutter as his foot rubbed gently against my leg, both of us pretending to be listening to Niall.

Jill left after supper, and the three of us decided to watch another movie from Niall's extravagant collection. We chose to watch Paranormal Activity and settled onto the couch, all three of us seated on the same one, neither of us wanting to sit alone during the horror movie. Louis' face was buried in my chest the majority of the time, my arms wrapped around him soothingly, and Niall had a couch pillow squeezed tightly against him, covering his eyes. It was nice to be able to sit with Niall without having to play up the whole boyfriend thing. There was no jealousy game anymore. Plus, I think Niall was more comfortable around us like this anyways. Louis jumped at a scary part and I rubbed circles on his back, kissing the top of his head gently. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit at his shaking figure in my arms.

When the movie ended, both lads sighed in relief and Niall told us he was going to his room to Skype Sean, his best friend from Ireland. We wished him good night and stayed snuggled on the couch, Louis shifting so that he was sitting on my lap, straddling me.

"Can I sleep here tonight? I can't go home alone after that," Louis confessed, and unlike the shower scene this morning he was actually scared

"Of course, love. You're welcome here every single night if you'd like."

"Well, we ought to start going to my place occasionally when we have sex. I'm surprised poor little Niall wasn't scarred after last night," Louis joked, resting his forehead against mine with a smile spread across his lips.

"He ought to be used to it by now. We'll just have to be quieter," I continued, closing the distance between Louis and I to catch his bottom lip between mine, my tongue trailing along it, seeking entrance.

Louis quickly pushed me away, giving me a disapproving glare. "Not tonight, Curly. I'm still sore from last night," Louis pouted, and I pecked his forehead, pulling him closer to me so that his head was nuzzled into my neck, his arms wrapped around it as well and our chests touching.

"You know, we've been somewhat together for so long but haven't really gotten to know each other like a real couple should," Louis stated, his fingers twirling the curls on the base of my neck.

"Because we've only been a real couple for one day, Lou." I argued, and he shook his head in comprehension. It wasn't that I didn't care enough to learn things about him, I had always just been so afraid to get too personal.

"Are you suggesting we get to know each other?" I asked, my hands locking just above Louis' bum.

"Yes. And I'll go first by admitting that I actually hate horror movies, but I figured watching one would be a good excuse to snuggle," he confessed with a cheeky smile.

"Oh, I know Lou. You were shaking like a dog on my lap. You poor thing."

"Now you confess something," Louis prodded, impatiently waiting for my answer.

"I'm afraid of pigeons because one shat on my head when I was a kid."

Louis couldn't control his laughter after I spoke, and called me a wuss, which then turned into a small argument over who was the tougher man. Eventually, though, after I won, Louis feigned defeat by proceeding with his questioning.

"What's your middle name?"

"Edward," I answered.

"Harry Edward Styles-Tomlinson. Has a nice ring to it," he nodded approvingly, and I blushed at the name he gave me, leaning down to kiss him again.

"What's yours Lou?"

"Mine is William."

"Well, Louis William Tomlinson-Styles sounds fantastic as well." I smiled and his eyes lit up, the bright shade of blue that always glistened when he was happy.

"I've always wanted a dog," Louis urgently confessed, smiling adorably, but whining when I shook my head.

"Dogs are so much work, Lou."

"I know, but they're supposed to be man's best friend," Louis pouted. He was such a suck up sometimes.

"You doing me doggy-style is the closest you will come to getting a dog so long as we're together."

"Oh, you kinky bastard," Louis groaned. He tried to appear disgusted, but looked almost turned on by my suggestion instead.

"Tell me more about your family, Harry," Louis said quietly, sounding genuinely curious. I suppose he was also trying to distract himself from the dirty thoughts circling his brain.

"Well, I have an older sister called Gemma, as I have probably said before. My mum and dad still live together. My mum is honestly one of my best friends and I trust her with absolutely anything. She knew about Niall, and she was the first one I told about my feelings for you," I said, and he reached behind him to grab my hands on his lower back and intertwine our fingers between our chests.

"That's sweet, babe," he said, pecking my lips. "I always wish I could have been close with my mum. I guess I was lucky enough to grow closer to my dad though."

I let go of one of his hands to brush his fringe out of his eyes, letting my fingers run through his hair a few times before finding it's way to his own hand again.

"Well feel free to borrow my mum, Lou. I'm sure she can't wait to meet you."

The smile on Louis' face made my stomach do a little flip and then he kissed my nose tenderly.

"I have more questions for you," he proclaimed excitedly. "Umm.." he bit his lip, thinking hard of what to say next. "If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"Cuba," I said without hesitation. I have always wanted to go there on a romantic vacation, and now I dreamed of taking Louis there someday. "With you."

"Someday..." he trailed off, and he looked satisfied with my answer. "Harry, we've never really discussed out past relationships. How many have you had?"

Oh great. The relationship question. I absolutely hated when a partner asked this question, because they tended to forget that it was all in the past and that they had nothing to worry about.

"A few," I admitted, but he glared at me, expecting more. "My first relationship was in middle school with a girl called Felicity. That didn't last long. We were young, what would you expect? Then in high school I dated a girl called Valerie. I lost my virginity to her, but also realized I was gay before ending our relationship a week later. Let's just say it took me ages to orgasm, and I actually had to pull out and finish myself off. It was absolutely mortifying. But then I dated a boy called Ryan, and when we had sex it was much easier and I realized I had no interest whatsoever in women. Then, Ryan broke up with me and I started developing feelings for Niall. For years I stayed single, but I did have a couple of one night stands. None ever lasting more than the one time. Then there was Liam, and we both know how badly that relationship went, but now it will always be you."

He looked uncomfortable listening to me discuss past relationships and hook ups, as presumed, but I pressed a quick kiss to his plump lips and asked him the same question in return.

"Well," he began, "I only had one real relationship with a girl before you. It didn't feel right, and I couldn't trust her because of my past. I have trust issues Harry, and I may be really possessive of clingy or worry a lot, but it's only because I love you, alright? Well, I didn't even have sex with Jessica. We broke up after a month. I only lost my virginity at 18 to some slag in the club, and I got off easily, and thought I was satisfied, but a week later I got absolutely wasted and realized fucking a guy was so much funner. So that's what I did. I didn't trust anyone, so I shagged random blokes for fun and ran away. I almost fell for a guy once, but left town for a couple of weeks to avoid him. Basically, I became a whore. I just fucked anything, really. And honestly baby, I expected you to be the same way - just one night of fun. But Jesus, were you ever special. Now look at us. You've changed me. You've made me believe in love, Harry."

A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks, so I released his hands and cupped his cheeks, pulling his face down to mine and kissing him, our lips moving together in perfect synchronization, the perfect amount of gentleness and passion erupting through our kiss. I pulled back slightly and swiped away the tears with my thumb. "I love you," was all I said. It seemed cheesy to continuously proclaim our love, but it was fresh and new and just a wonderful feeling.

"Now enough of these questions," he said, chuckling quietly.

"Wait," I added with a cheeky smirk. "I have one more."

"What's that, Harry?" he asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"In your opinion, what's better than sex?" I questioned him with a cheeky grin, hoping to lighten the mood with my ridiculous question.

"Food," he replied after only a moment of thought. I rolled my eyes exasperatedly and he smiled, little crinkles forming by his eyes.

"Really, Lou?"

"Yes. Food is satisfying," he muttered, his pearly whites showing through the grin that kept growing on his lips.

"What if you incorporated food with sex?" I leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Curly!" he gasped, slapping me lightly on the shoulder. "Is this a new kink of yours?"

"It's not new. We've just never explored it." I had tested it out with Ryan once, and then I actually did the same with Liam when I tried to make our boring sex life more exciting. No matter how hard I tried, though, he just couldn't please me like Louis.

"So are you suggesting I lick whipped cream off of your naked body? Or eat strawberries off of it? Maybe we could lather you in chocolate frosting."

Louis' suggestions were turning me on, so a quiet "please" tumbled out of my mouth, followed by a moan.

"Someday, baby. Now can we just go to bed?" Louis asked, and I nodded, standing up and grappling his waist, carrying him up the stairs with me. We both stripped and then I slipped next to him in bed, our limbs automatically intertwining as I kissed him goodnight, telling him how much I loved him for the millionth time today just because I finally could.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

"But Lou, do you really, really have to go?" I whined, I felt a bit like a whiny toddler, and I probably looked like one as well. I was clinging to Louis' jumper, well, mine, that looked absolutely adorable on him, rubbed my face against it and my lip was twitching as it stuck out in the best puppyface I could manage. Louis chuckled and ran his hand through my hair, tucking it behind my ear to clear it from my face.

"Yes, I really, really have to go. I really have to clean my flat, and you..." he flicked my nose with a smile tugging on his lips, making it hard for me to maintain my puppyface, "need to study mister. Besides, you'll be coming over to mine tomorrow night, so it won't be long until you see me again."

I huffed but my frown turned into a smile quickly when Louis bribed me with a long and sweet kiss. We'd spend the entire morning in bed, just cuddling and talking some more, and I loved every second of it. It was great hearing Louis' stories about his sister and dad, and telling him some of my childhood stories as well. Niall and Jill were still out cold, or so we supposed from the snoring coming from inside his bedroom, so we'd just had lunch and now Louis was about to leave. I didn't like it one bit, and even though I was pretty sure he wasn't all that thrilled about spending the night apart, he put his foot down.

"Love you curly. You're bringing dinner tomorrow night, yeah?" He pecked my lips one last time before he got up, tugging me along to the hallway where he put his boots on. I leaned against the wall, sneaking a glimpse at his luscious bum as I replied I'd be at his flat by 6, with food. We shared another kiss before he went out, leaving me alone in the apartment that felt strangely empty without him.

He was right though, I had some studying to do if I wanted to pass my exams next month, so I went back into my room, made my bed en took out my books to start on it.

Jill stuck her head round the door to say goodbye sometime during the afternoon, and Niall came to ask me if I was going to cook or if he should order pizza. I was quite fed up with take away food, so I told him we'd cook together. Maybe he'd finally pick up on it and start cooking for himself, though that probably was wishful thinking.

Later that night, the bed felt cold and way too big for me alone, making it difficult to fall asleep. It must've been way past midnight when I finally drifted off, after I'd given up on getting a reply to my texts to Louis. He'd texted me around eleven that he was going to bed early and apparently he had been lucky enough to fall asleep rather quickly. His scent engulfed me when I woke up at seven, still tired but unable to go back to sleep. I stayed in bed for a little longer though, sniffing his pillow and imagining he was still there with me. My phone buzzed underneath my pillow, Louis' sweet goodmorning text bringing a smile to my face. I reluctantly got out from under the covers, shivering as the cold winter air hit my bare skin on the way to the shower. Once dressed in the clothes I'd grabbed from my dresser, I went into the kitchen, where I found Niall, much to my surprise. Not only because it was still early, but even more because he was making pancakes. Not ever had he succeeded in making pancakes that weren't turned into charcoal, but these actually looked and smelled rather good.

"Jill taught me the other day." he boasted proudly as he put down a plate in front of me, three pancakes covered in a pool of maple syrup giving off a delicious smell.

"Holy shit! These are great Niall!" I exclaimed once I had emptied my mouth from the first bite, earning something between a proud look and a scoff from my best mate. We talked some more, both of us mostly just gushing over our lovers before we retreated back into our room, study duty calling without mercy.

I wasn't sure if it was my lack of sleep or my mind constantly trailing off to Louis that prevented me from concentrating on the subject before me. I had tried switching to another subject, putting on some music, putting in earplugs, taking a power nap and even drinking three mugs of strong coffee but nothing seemed to help. In the end I just gave up, I made myself a cucumber sandwich and went to Niall's room to tell him I was leaving and not to expect me back until at least tomorrow night.

It wasn't that far to Louis' flat, not in the broad daylight anyway, so I decided to walk since the sun was out, and even though it was rather cold, it was nice to be outside. I popped into the small supermarket I passed by on my way and greeted the lady behind the counter before I walked through the aisles, trying to decide what I'd cook for us tonight.

Twenty minutes after paying for my groceries, I arrived at Louis' building. A blond woman I recognized from a previous encounter in the elevator let me in as she saw me struggling with the two rather large paper bags from the store. I thanked her and quickly made my way to the elevator so I'd catch it before it went up again. I pressed the button for his floor and waited for the doors to close, feeling ridiculously giddy at the thought of seeing my boyfriend again. There was a spring in my step as I exited the elevator and I was secretly happy I was the only one on his floor as I made my way to his door, letting my knuckles hit the blank wood of his front door a couple of times, waiting for him to let me in.

It took a while, and as I pressed my ear to the cool wood, I could hear him talking. I frowned. Maybe coming over this early was a bad idea, perhaps he had company and he didn't exactly want me there. I hesitated, contemplating if I should walk away, and as I turned, my coat pocket holding my keys and my phone smashed against the door, causing a loud bang.

"Coming! Hold on!" he shouted from inside, taking away my only opportunity to pretend I hadn't been here this early. Soon enough, I could hear his footsteps running towards the door, yanking it open as he peered out to see who was there.

"Harry!" he exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't expect you this early." His lips curled up in amusement as he noticed me standing in the hallway and he let out a light chuckle before he took one of the paper bags out of my arms.

"I-I... I missed you." I gushed, a blush spreading across my cheeks as I stared intently at my toes.

"Aw, Harry! Aren't you the cutest! Come on, come inside so we can put these in the kitchen." He grabbed my free hand and pulled me inside, to the kitchen where he dumped his bag on the counter before taking mine as well. "Go take off your coat and your shoes, I'll put these away." he smiled, pulling me back as I turned around. "But give me a kiss first." I happily complied to his wish and pressed my lips to his, a blissful sigh escaping my mouth as I relished in the feeling of being close to him again. No matter if I felt silly for missing him that much after spending only a day apart, I wasn't capable of hiding my relief of being together again.

"Went a little crazy on the groceries there, curly?" he shouted from the kitchen while I was busy pulling off my shoes. I looked up at him as his voice suddenly came from right behind me, finding his face peering from behind the wall. "How many people are you expecting to join us for dinner exactly?" A playful smirk played on his face, causing me to stick my tongue out at him.

"I just couldn't choose between quiche and chicken Parmesan, so I decided to take both." I replied as I stood up to my full height, walking over to him, wrapping him in my arms.

An appreciative hum escaped his lips, making me smile before I pressed a kiss to his head. Suddenly I remembered hearing him talk to someone, and I decided to ask him if we had company, in case he had forgotten about it himself. It was something that could quite possibly happen with Louis. "Do you have company? I heard you talking to someone when I waited for you to answer the door."

He pulled back, looking up at me as he scrunched his nose in thought. "No... Oh! Right! I was skyping Lottie!" His eyes widened as he grinned brightly. "Oh! She's probably still online, come on!" He pushed me backwards towards his living room where his laptop was on the table, the skype window filling the entire screen as he pushed me down on his chair, climbing on my lap soon after.

"Ah, yes, she's still here!" he said, jumping up and down slightly as he double clicked on the screen. Soon after, a smiling girl popped up on the screen, her eyes the same stunning blue as Louis', but her hair long and blond and except for her mouth nothing else would give away they were related.

"Who was at your door then Lou?" she asked, turning her gaze away once she had reassured herself that the chat was working and typing furiously on the keyboard in front of her.

"Harry." He replied matter-of-factually, his arm put around my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. He chuckled as Lottie's head shot up, peering at her screen.

"The Harry?" she requested and Louis giggled, nodding at the camera.

"Yes. Harry, meet my sister Lottie, Lottie, meet my boyfriend, Harry." he stated proudly, shifting a little so my face was visible in the small square that showed the image we were sending to our correspondent. 

I put up my hand and gave her a small wave as she obviously noticed me.

"Hi!" I awkwardly added, unsure how to act on meeting my boyfriend's sister through skype.

"Oh. My. God. Louis, he's gorgeous!" she exclaimed, eyes wide open and her lips parted in a way that reminded me of Louis.

"I know, right." he winked, pressing a kiss to my heated cheeks.

"So that's why you had to come home Lou, to tell your sister about me over skype? I do have a computer too, you know." I teased, trying to divert the attention away from me. He slapped me around the back of my head, smirking at my pout and kissing it away right after that.

"No, I had to clean, my sister is a pig, so the flat resembled a pigsty when she left, it didn't get this clean all by itself, you know. But I did all that yesterday, so this afternoon, yeah, that was what I was planning to do." he retorted, keeping his eyes locked with mine the entire time.

"Hey! I'm not a pig! And it was Louis' duty to call me and tell me all about you. We have an agreement to tell each other about any boyfriends first." Lottie chimed, her keyboard shoved to the side.

"So I can chase them all away and stop them from harassing my little sister." Louis beamed proudly.

"Ugh, Louis, don't remind me. Jack still doesn't dare to look at me and that's two years ago!" she complained, making me chuckle because I could imagine perfectly how Louis would scare away any guy he didn't trust with his sister. And that probably meant every guy that came within a mile radius of her.

"Well, judging from the way he was looking at you, that's a good thing. You were bloody thirteen! He shouldn't have been eyeraping you like that!" Louis protested, huffing as he turned to me to convince me.

"What-ever Louis. Anyway, Harry, I have to warn you, if you hurt my brother I'll have to hunt you down, torture you for a couple of days and then leave you to die slowly, so you better take care of him!" she warned, her index finger prodding at the screen though she couldn't quite hide the smile tugging at her lips.

"Well, I don't plan on hurting him, it's taken us long enough to get where we are now and I'm not letting him go without putting up a fight." I smiled at her, earning me a lingering kiss from Louis who hid his face in the crook of my neck to hide the blush rising on his cheeks.

"Good." Lottie smiled, and we continued chatting for a little while before we heard a man's voice coming from somewhere in her house.

"Hold on guys, dad needs me, I'll be back."

"Lottie don't tell him..." Louis started to say but she was already gone, disappearing somewhere off screen.

"Don't tell him what?" I asked curiously, looking up at him as he sighed and rubbed his face.

"Tell him that you're here too. He'll want to talk to you and I just don't want to do that to you. Yet." he replied.

We spent the next five minutes or so cuddling, his fingers combing through my hair, as I played with the fingers of his other hand in his lap.

"Is it silly that I missed you so much? I couldn't even sleep properly without you." I asked, my face hidden in his thick jumper that just smelled so much like him.

"It's not silly," he replied softly, his fingers still playing with my hair. "I love it that you miss me. And I missed you too. I had three shots of wodka last night to ensure I'd be able to sleep without your arms around me."

I looked up, his blue eyes shining with love and care as they locked with mine. "Really?"

"Really. You have no idea what you do to me curly." He muttered, rubbing his face against mine, his slight stubble rough on my cheeks.

"I think I do, cause it's the same with me." I replied truthfully, smiling up at him before I caught his lips between mine, a small moan escaping when his tongue licked my bottom lip.

"Hey! Love birds! Quit the PDA, dad wants to talk to you!" Lottie's mocking voice came suddenly from the laptop's speakers, alerting us that we weren't as alone as it seemed.

"Fuck. Sorry Harry..." Louis muttered before turning to the screen where Lottie was back, soon to be joined by a friendly looking man that I supposed was their dad. I shrugged and squeezed his waist to let him know it was okay. "Hi dad!"

He smiled, and as their dad smiled back, it was easy to tell where both Lottie and Louis got their breath taking smile from.

"Hey Louis. Hey... Harry, I believe?"

"Yes, hello sir." I smiled politely, still a bit uncomfortable with meeting his family through a computer screen.

"Oh please call me David, I don't like being called sir." he smiled back, his voice somehow putting me at ease with him.

"Hello David, then." I smiled back at the screen.

"You look happy, Louis." his dad remarked, and I grinned at that, because it was true. Louis did look happy whenever we were together.

"I am happy dad," he replied, his fingers burying themselves into my shoulder, softly massaging it.

"Good. I don't think I've ever seen you this happy. Cherish it Lou, love is hard to find, and even harder to keep." A dark look passed through his eyes, and I saw Lottie glance down at the table before David cleared his throat.

"I do dad, and I know," was Louis' reply, his voice softer and close to breaking.

"I'm going to take good care of him, sir- I mean, David." I added, my head leaning against Louis' chest in an attempt to comfort him.

"I have no doubt about that. I can see that you both love each other. You take good care of him too Louis." he smiled.

"Daaad." Louis groaned, suddenly embarrassed by his father's advice.

David chuckled deeply. "Alright alright, I'll stop embarrassing you. I'm going to take this young lady out for dinner anyway, our stove has broken down once again. We'll have to go buy a new one soon. Do come visit us soon, you two!" he added, smiling warmly at his son.

"Yeah yeah, once Harry's exams are over maybe." Louis muttered, feeling the need to reply but not wanting to make any promises before discussing it with me.

"Good. Bye guys." David added, getting up again, leaving us with Lottie once more.

"Well, I better go and get dolled up then," she winked. "Talk to you soon, alright?"

"Bye Lots. And thanks a lot for bringing dad into this conversation." Louis glared unconvincingly.

"It wasn't even that bad Lou, my boyfriends facing you is scarier than them facing dad." she stuck out her tongue and waved at us one final time before the call disconnected.

"You alright curly?" Louis requested, his forehead resting against mine.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?"

"Because you just met my sister and my dad without any preparation." he declared as if that was obviously a reason to be upset.

"They're both lovely, Lou, you really didn't need to worry." I grinned before I lightly pecked his nose.

"Yeah, I guess." he sighed, his stomach growling lowly.

"Hungry?"

"A bit, haven't eaten anything decent since this morning."

"Well, let's start on dinner than, it'll take a while before it's ready anyway."

He pulled me up and with him to the kitchen, handing me the ingredients I requested and carefully doing what I asked him to, constantly seeking approval to see if he was doing it right. He had no idea how to make either dish, so we decided to make both and have the quiche as a starter and the chicken as the main course.

Louis proved to be a great apprentice, picking up on how to do things rather quickly, asking questions all the time when he didn't get something and paying attention to what I was doing at the same time. 

After an hour and a half, the quiche was in the oven, the chicken waiting in another tray and Louis handed me a beer as we sat down at his kitchen table, waiting for the oven timer to go off.

"I honestly didn't realise it was this easy to make." he wondered, twirling the bottle between his fingers.

"Next year I'll buy a cookbook for your birthday." I smiled.

"Nah, I'd rather have you teach me everything I need to know. And besides, I kind of liked this year's birthday present." he replied cheekily, making me chuckle.

"It was quite obvious that you liked that, yes." I replied, biting my lip as he got up with darkened eyes and walked towards me, pulling me up with him and pressing me against the counter. His hands flew up to my face, his thumbs rubbing my cheeks as he leaned in, standing on his tip toes so he could reach my lips. I leaned down a little to accommodate him, his lips pressing forcefully against mine.

"You make a fucking hot teacher Harry." he growled lowly, his hips pushing against mine, capturing me between his body and the counter. One of his legs locked around mine, forcing our crotches even closer as his lips trailed over my jaw and down my neck, pushing my T-shirt aside to be able to lick along my collarbone.  

My head was thrown back in pleasure, his ragged breathing close to my ear driving me crazy with lust and love for this peculiar boy I'd grown so fond of.

He rolled his hips against mine expertly, and I was quite sure he'd make me come in my pants if he kept this up, and I knew he knew that too.

"You like this, don't you baby?" he whispered hotly, his hot breath fanning over my ear as he reached out for my earlobe, sucking and nibbling on it while he continued the movements of his hips, his painfully obvious erection rubbing against mine, creating the right amount of friction as I pulled him closer by his waist.

"God yes, Louis, I love this." I breathed out, moaning loudly as one of his hands trailed down across my chest and abdomen to rest on my crotch, squeezing lightly.

I don't think I ever cursed this loud in my life when the beep-beep beep-beep of the oven timer sounded, meaning the quiche was ready.

Louis just smirked and pecked my lips. "We'll have to continue this later babe." he winked, reaching inside a drawer to find his oven mittens to get our food out of the oven.

"Be right back." I mumbled and made my way to his bathroom to cool down for a while, even though I had a feeling even half an hour under freezing water wouldn't be able to cool me down right now.

"That was so damn good!" Louis exclaimed once the left overs were placed back in the fridge, providing us with lunch and dinner for tomorrow without a doubt. The three beers I'd had added to my lack of sleep last night left me feeling rather intoxicated and I couldn't do much more than smile lazily when he climbed onto my lap, straddling me as his fingers traveled from my ear down my neck to my collarbone, tickling and teasing the skin while his mouth attacked mine, his tongue licking my lips to gain access. His tongue roamed around in my mound, licking every inch before he pulled back in need of air. His forehead rested against mine, his breathing ragged and his hips rolling against mine on their own accord.

"Would you..." he hesitated, squeezing his eyes shut as if he was afraid to ask what was on his mind. I nudged his nose with mine to encourage him and he smiled slightly as his eyes locked with mine before he fixed his gaze on my chest again. "Would you let me fuck you, Harry?" His voice was soft and vulnerable, and the sound alone almost brought tears to my eyes.

I brought my hand to his chin and forced him to look in my eyes. His eyes were guarded and he gulped, afraid of my answer.

"Lou..."

"Never mind, forget I even asked." he quickly said, forcing a smile and leaning forward to continue what he was doing.

"Louis, listen to me." I repeated, pulling him back so I could look at him.

"Yes, of course I would, but not tonight. I'm tired and slightly intoxicated and I want to take my time for that, you understand?"

"Really?" a look of disbelief shone in his eyes and I smiled at him.

"Yes, really."

He bit his lip, a wide smile taking over his features. "Oh god, I can't believe you'd let me do that."

"Louis, of course I would. I trust you, and I love you, and I want you in every possible way."

"Thank you," he whispered, adding a sweet kiss to my lips. "Come on then, let's get to bed so I can finish what I started earlier." He winked and slid off my lap, taking my hand as he ran off to the bedroom.

It still amazed me how he could change from insecure and shy to confident, playful and just downright horny in only seconds.

I was the first one to wake up in the morning, as usual. His arms were wrapped around my body, and it took me some time to get out from in between them without waking him up.

Finally I decided to replace my body with a pillow so I could leave the bed and stretch out properly. I didn't even bother to try and find my own boxers in the pile of clothes on the bedroom floor and just stole Louis' from his drawer, pulling them on before I walked towards the kitchen. The floor heating provided a nice warmth that easily spread through the entire flat and I loved feeling the warm floor under my bare feet. I pulled open the fridge in search for something to cook breakfast with, but apart from the leftovers from yesterday, it was pretty much empty. The only things I found were a bottle of fresh sweetened cream that still had to be whipped, a bottle of milk chocolate sauce, bananas and a box of grapes and without a doubt really expensive strawberries. I didn't even want to think about how much they must've cost him in the middle of winter, but a fond smile grew on my face when I realised why he must've bought all this. I had no idea he was that eager to try out my food kink, as he had called it a couple of days before, and I felt love, and a tinge of lust well up in my chest at the thought. A mental image of Louis slowly licking whipped cream of my finger flashed in front of my eyes and I let out a low growl as I urgently started searching through his cupboards for a plastic container and a mixer. After whipping the cream and storing it in the fridge again, I took out the cereal I'd come across on my earlier search and made us two bowls of cereal after sniffing the milk to make sure it hadn't gone sour.

I put the two bowls on a tray and picked a few grapes from the stem, walking into the bedroom. Louis was spread out over the mattress, eyes fluttering open as a lazy smile spread over his face. "Morning Harry." he drawled out, turning to his side as he eyed our breakfast.

"Morning love," I answered, using the word that was for some reason a massive turn on for him, as had been proved last night again. He smirked and stuck his tongue out at me, the sheets fallen back to his waist, his legs and torso uncovered. "I couldn't find much food but I made the best breakfast possible." I smiled and he bit his lip.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose I need to go shopping if we stay here more often."

I handed him his bowl once he sat up against the headboard and joined him on the bed, our spoons clanking against the porcelain the only sound for a while.

I finished breakfast first, and after I put my bowl on the side, I turned to Louis, draping my arm around his waist and resting my head on his chest. His skin smelled salty of his sweat and of his own undefinable scent.

"Louis?"

"Hmmm?" he was chewing his cereal, but I didn't wait to continue my cheeky question.

"Care to elaborate why I couldn't find anything but sweetened cream, chocolate sauce and fruit in your fridge?" I asked, playing with the soft hairs leading down from his belly button under the sheets.

He choked on his cereal but managed to keep everything in his mouth, something I had to give him credit for. I took the almost empty bowl from his hands and put it away with mine before I straddled him, the thin white sheet and my boxers the only barrier between our lower bodies.

"Were you perhaps planning to try out how much fun we can have with dessert in bed?" I muttered in a deep voice, close to purring as I licked the sensitive skin in his neck.

"Ugh, oh god, hmmmm. Harry..."

"Were you, love?"His hips bucked up against mine, searching desperately for friction but I brought my hands down to his hips, pushing them down on the mattress. "Hmmm?"

"Yes! Okay? Yes! I can't stop thinking about it ever since you mentioned it!"

I grinned. "Good boy. But in order to have dessert, you'll have to finish your lunch first, right? Nobody has dessert after their breakfast."

"You fucking tease." he hissed as I climbed off of him, grabbing the boxers I threw at him. I smirked and started walking to the door.

"Care to join me in the shower, love?" I winked, the doorknob in my hand, chuckling as I heard him scrambling out of the bed and run towards the bathroom where I was already turning on the shower. I managed to keep the shower PG-13, our hands on each other's body for washing and cuddling only as I wanted to keep the sexual tension between us as high as possible for what we were going to do after lunch. The only way I succeeded was by threatening to deny him dessert, though.

He spent the rest of the morning checking his emails and replying to some important work related ones while I sat on the couch, reading a book I'd found on one of his shelves, disturbed several times by Louis asking if it was time for lunch yet.

His eagerness amused me, and it was easy to tell he was getting more and more anxious as the clock approached noon. He was getting annoyed by my indifference, and once he was done with his emails and noticed he didn't get much reaction out of me, he had started playing a video game on his laptop, race car sounds coming from the speakers.

"You hungry Louis?" I asked innocently when I noticed it was half past twelve and I had to suppress a smirk when he jumped up from his chair and nearly ran over to the couch.

"Yes! I thought you'd never ask! Come on, let's warm up the quiche!" he gushed, pulling me to the kitchen with him.

I turned the knobs of the oven to the right temperature and contemplated teasing him some more, but since he already looked ready to explode, I decided against it. Instead, I took out the fruit and handed him a sharp knife as I put it on the counter together with three bowls, cutting up the bananas and cleaning the strawberries and the grapes so they were ready to use for our little adventure. He jumped a little every time our hands touched, obviously getting a little overexcited. That much even, that I was getting afraid he wouldn't be able to enjoy it if he stayed like this.

"Lou, come here." I took the knife out of his hand, put it on the counter and pulled him close. I pressed my lips to his and let my hands roam over his back, putting an amount of pressure on them of which I hoped it would work calming. He shivered and tensed slightly, and it took a few seconds of nudging from my lips against his before he finally relaxed, going a little limp in my arms. "Calm down babe, I promise it will be fun and hot and all you want it to be, but you have to relax or it will be only awkward and clumsy."

He buried his face in my chest and heaved a big sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry. The anticipation got a bit too much, I suppose."

I smiled and pulled his face up. "It's fine babe, I get it. Come on, the quiche should be ready now."

We ate pretty much in silence, Louis taking deep breaths and chewing slowly, still trying to calm himself. I put away the dishes, but I knew washing them would be asking too much of Louis' patience. Instead I pulled the fridge open and placed the plastic container with the whipped cream and the bottle of chocolate sauce in his hands as I juggled the three bowls with fruit in mine. He walked a little bit in front of me on our way to the bedroom, and I placed everything at the side of the bed, ready to take as we pleased before I shut the door and closed the distance between us. He was fumbling with the cuffs of his long sleeved T-shirt, standing in the middle of the bedroom, looking strangely out of place. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him close as I pressed soft kisses to his temple, his forehead, his eyes, his nose, cheeks and finally his mouth. His breathing was irregular as I stroked up and down his back with one finger, my other hand rubbing circles on his bare skin of his hips.

"I love you." I whispered, kissing my way from his lips to his ear and down his neck, causing him to tilt his head to the side so I had better access. My hands drifted down to the hem of his shirt, pulling it off so he was left topless. I took a minute to admire his beautiful body I never seemed to get used to before I reached down to pull my own top off, unbuttoning his pants right after that. Finally he snapped out of it, his hands moving from his sides to the waistband of my pants. His fingers hooked after it as he moved his hands to the front, kissing me sloppily on the lips as he did so. It seemed to take ages before he popped the button and slid the zipper down, his hand sliding down the front, groping me lightly in a teasing manner. It had me gasping and throwing my head back in both pleasure and surprise. We both stepped out of our pants, glad we hadn't bothered with shoes or socks since the floor was warm enough and I pulled him to the bed with me, laying him down carefully, close enough to the edge so I could reach everything easily. I contemplated taking his boxers off to make sure they wouldn't be smudged, but decided against it since his erection was already forming beneath the soft cotton and I wanted it to be slow and teasing, so I'd best keep direct touches limited for the first bit.

He shivered a little at the cold sensation when I put half a strawberry on his chest, lapping around it and nibbling it soon after. His blue eyes were darkened when I looked in them after that, letting me know that he enjoyed it as well. I proceeded with putting more pieces of fruit all over his torso, covering his nipples with slices of banana and making a trail to the waistband of his boxers with strawberries and grapes. His muscles rippled a little at every piece of fruit making contact with his skin, something that only got worse when I covered the gaps between the fruit with whipped cream, using my finger to spread it.

His eyes were half lidded, his boxers now hardly concealing a very obvious hard on. There was still some whipped cream left on my finger when I was done with it, so I made sure he was watching me as I put it in my mouth, licking the white sweetness off with an open mouth. I smirked as a trembling breath left his lips and dipped my finger in the bowl again, putting a small tuft of cream on it before I reached out for his mouth. I moaned as he licked and sucked at it, his skillful tongue suggestively working my finger. Fuck, how could I forget how hot he was? I shook myself out of it and reached for the cold bottle of sauce. I unscrewed the cap and squeezed a little bit on my finger, licking it off to have a taste. It was absolutely delicious, and I was sure it would be even better mixed with the whipped cream, the fruit, and most of all, Louis. I held the bottle high as the brown liquid seeped out of it, leaving narrow traces all over his chest and abdomen, forming an interesting pattern with the fruit and the whipped cream. I drew little flowers around the banana covering his nipples and a heart around his belly button before I put the bottle away and sat back to admire my work.

Louis definitely was the most delicious plate of fruit with whipped cream and chocolate sauce I'd ever seen, and his deep growl made me smile. Not that I could've stopped myself from having a taste for much longer, but his lust was contagious.

I positioned myself in between his legs and leaned down carefully, eating the grapes close to his collarbones first, licking the cream as I followed the trail I'd laid out, going down in between his pecs, avoiding his nipples as I ate the strawberries in the lines between his abs. The whipped cream and chocolate sauce was smeared all around my lips now, so I sat up, licking my lips and tracing my mouth with my finger to make sure I took all smears away before I licked back up to his nipples, lapping at the chocolate flowers before I took their banana hearts into my mouth, nibbling and sucking at the hardened knobs while I was at it. The heart around his belly button was next, his pants and moans louder and more frequent now. The grape in his belly button tasted a bit salty of his sweat, small droplets forming on his skin as I slowly licked the trail of whipped cream that covered his happy trail to the edge of his boxers.

He was all clean now, and I was surprised by his low growl when he sat up, throwing me over so I was on my back, his frail body towering over me. He bit his lip as he tugged on the waistband of my boxers, urging me to lift my bum so he could take them off. I complied happily and couldn't stop a loud moan from escaping my lips as he took off his as well and put his body on top of mine, rubbing our erections against each other. He rested his torso on mine and leaned close to my ear. "Watch me babe, two can play that game."

And dear god, did he know how to play the game. Soon my upper body was covered in fruit, whipped cream and ice cold chocolate sauce, hardly an inch of bare skin visible, and Louis proved himself a dedicated table guest, licking every drop and smear of cream or sauce. He took his time lapping around the pieces of fruit, nibbling them while they still rested on my skin, driving me completely crazy with his touches. By the time he was done eating all of it, I was left a whimpering mess beneath him, and although he clearly was as aroused as I was, he still managed to smirk at me while he reached out for the bowl of whipped cream. He took a bit on his finger and smeared it around the base of my erection before he lapped it up with utmost dedication, making sure he didn't miss anything before he added some more, making a trail along my length, leaving a nice tuft on the head. He kept eye contact the entire time as he cleaned my penis from the sweet substance, driving me completely crazy. Apparently he decided to have mercy, pushing the bowls out of the way as he took my length farther into his mouth, bringing me to a mindblowing climax with his skilled mouth.

He was still sporting a rather impressive hard on when I finally came down from my high, finding him smiling down at me. I pulled him closer and reached down to return the favour but he shook his head. He smiled slightly at my confusion and leaned down to my ear, nibbling the lobe before he whispered what he desired.

"I feel dirty and sticky now Harry, so I want to shower, with you. And I want you to fuck me in the shower, pinning me against the tiles until I forget my own name."

I gulped and felt the throbbing ache return in my groin as I watched him get up from the bed and walk towards the hallway.

"You coming?" he winked.

I honestly don't think I ever ran that fast to reach the bathroom, and hell yes, the idea alone almost had me coming.


	19. Chapter Eightteen

I was lonely in my apartment on a bright spring day. It was near the end of March now, and Harry insisted on spending time alone to study for his finals. We had attempted to stay together, so long as Harry got a fair amount of studying time in between our discussions or cuddling sessions; but that didn't work out as well as planned.

"Harry, do you really have to leave me for two weeks?" I had asked a week prior with a pout, leaning over the back of the sofa to wrap my arms around Harry's neck. Harry was typing up a term paper on his laptop, his fingers flying over the keys at lightning speed as he tried to make up for the time he missed for work due to the last few nights at my place.

"Yes, because I came here to spend time with you and focus on studying, but all we've done is snog and have sex all hours of the night. As lovely as that is babe, I really need to focus on my studies just for a little while. You're such a distraction," Harry teased, sipping on the cup of tea that I had boiled for him as soon as we got up this morning. "Once I finish this cuppa I'll be gone."

"Can I at least call you every night? And text you when I'm bored?" I asked, kissing Harry's neck delicately.

"For a few minutes, yes... And of course, but I won't always reply right away."

I groaned at Harry's words and Harry chuckled at my whining. "Baby, you'll survive," he said in attempt to reassure me.

"I don't know, Curly. I'll miss you an awful lot," I replied quietly, moving to sit next to Harry on the couch. Harry lifted an arm, snuggling me close for a few minutes. I listened to his steady breathing until he emptied his mug and placed it on the table in front of him, lifting his arm from around me to get up from the couch.

"That's my signal to leave," he mumbled, saving his essay and closing his laptop. He packed his things up and I watched him from the couch, frowning at the thought of being without him. When Harry carried his bag to the front door and slipped on his jacket, I snuck in to give him a quick kiss goodbye.

Well, our quick kiss goodbye turned into a steamy snogging session with Harry pinning my smaller body to the kitchen counter, and continued in the bedroom with some nice goodbye sex. I watched Harry leave later that morning with a satisfied smile and an extra bounce in his step. Perhaps that would be enough to get me through two weeks alone, I thought to myself - but it wasn't.

A week had passed and I was missing him more and more every day. It actually bothered me that I couldn't stand the thought of being alone. I had always enjoyed being alone before meeting Harry. I enjoyed the solemn simplicity and the quiet of the room around him; but now it was unbearable. I wanted; no I needed someone to cuddle and talk to and that could keep me entertained.

I couldn't focus enough to read a book or even watch a movie without texting Harry and anxiously awaiting a reply; craving the younger boys' attention. I knew he was buried in books and busy memorizing formulas and theories to pass his finals, but I couldn't resist the urge to text him.

How's the studying going curly? I had sent Harry a text one night when I felt particularly lonely. Harry only had two exams left, having successfully written two earlier that week and I was dying to see him again.

It's not so bad. Miss you, x Harry replied.

You could always come pay me a visit... I'm lonely...

And after that message, Harry had to politely decline my invitation again because he had his most difficult exam in two days and "couldn't afford to lose any studying time over sex and tea," in Harry's actual words.

When the day of his final exam arrived, I parked outside of his university at noon. I had no clue when Harry would be out, but I wanted to surprise him. I sat outside of my car, leaning on the hood with my hands buried into the pockets of my thin spring jacket. I absolutely loved the spring. I loved watching the snow melt and the green grow, the fresh smell of nature enveloping the air. I loved the pretty flowers and the heat that would tan my skin to a crisp brown again within weeks.

I watched the other students leave one by one, sometimes joining a friend or stomping off on their own, headphones in and music loud enough to hear as they stepped past me. I didn't pay much attention to any of them; I was just waiting for my curly haired boy.

It was around half past twelve when I finally spotted my boyfriend walk out of the university doors with his roommate. Even from this distance I could see the large intake of breath he took as he stepped into the fresh air. He also had a large smile plastered on his face as he walked into step next to Niall, both relieved to have finished their week of exams.

They walked to the curb, neither noticing my presence as I stood somewhere across the street, watching Harry with a grin. He was chatting with Niall, who I assumed was waiting for Jill, and shifting from foot to foot. I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my lips and the small shake of my head as I watched him because he was completely oblivious that I was standing only twenty feet away.

I pulled out my phone and decided to send him a quick text, anxious to get his attention.

Turn around.

I saw him pull his phone out of his pocket and read the text, instantly turning to scan his surroundings with a hand shielding his eyes from the sun. Niall was mumbling something to him, and he replied with a quick response that I couldn't quite catch from over here. His eyes were squinted, trying to make out items in the distance and when his gaze locked on me his eyes widened. He turned to wave a quick goodbye to Niall before jogging over to me.

Without a word, his tall figure jumped into my arms, squeezing me so tight I could hardly breathe. I stood on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck and hug him back, our faces quickly pulling back so that our lips could meet in a quick, passionate kiss. His hands cupped my cheeks, holding me close to continuously peck my lips, my nose, my cheeks. "I missed you," he said between kisses and I giggled and squirmed in his arms as he continued to attack me with his lips.

"Stop," I said with a laugh, pushing his face away when he leaned in to shower me with another rounded of kisses. I gave him one last lingering kiss before pulling away so that he wouldn't think I was rejecting him. I leaned back on the hood of the car, Harry's fingers quickly finding mine and intertwining together. He stepped closer, his body propped between my legs.

I looked to our right to see Niall watching us and shouted hello, receiving an enthusiastic wave in response. Harry seemed unbothered by his best friends stare as he leaned down to capture my lips between his own again, more eager this time as his hands gripped the back of my neck to keep me close. Our lips moved together desperately, his tongue teasing my bottom lip. I couldn't help but chuckle at his eagerness, and he stepped closer, pushing me back so that I was actually sitting on the hood of the car and he leaned forward to pepper my neck in sloppy open mouthed kisses. My arms wrapped around his neck, holding myself up as he bent over on top of me. He nipped and sucked the pale skin that longed to feel his touch again.

One of his hands snaked up my jacket and beneath my tee shirt to feel the warm skin there, causing it to tingle as his fingertips brushed gently against it, moving to my lower back to hold me up. The other hand cupped the back of my neck as his tongue now licked a trail up to my ear and he nibbled on it, his curls tickling my skin. This could have turned into something much more intimate had we not been parked in front of Harry's school.

"Fuck, Harry," I groaned when he kissed along my neck again, leaving messy love bites. "Get off."

I pushed him up and slid back off the hood, running a hand through my hair as I looked awkwardly from side to side, noticing only a few students scattered around and only a couple pairs of eyes on us. He leaned down to peck my lips once more before walking to the passenger side of the car.

"What makes you think you're coming with me?" I teased, opening the door to climb into my seat.

"We've got a half-finished make out session that's going to end at your apartment," Harry said with a wink before we buckled in. We both waved goodbye to Niall who was still waiting for Jill when we drove away.

Later that evening, after taking care of unfinished business, Harry and I were dressed up and ready to go out for the night to celebrate the end of his exams. I had him in one of my tight blue button ups that accentuated his figure perfectly. He asked me to wear my braces over my white shirt, and I agreed, the accessory bringing back a couple lovely memories. I was taking him to the club we originally met. It was kind of a special place now. Not in terms of wonderful, heartfelt memories, but it was still the place we had first laid eyes on each other and that had to mean something, right?

"What do you want to drink?" I asked him as soon as we walked into the crowded room, the bass of the loud music causing the floor to shake beneath our feet and our hearts to beat in our chests.

"What was that, Lou?" he shouted, struggling to hear me. I stepped closer, repeating the words again with a comforting hand on his lower back. He understood me this time and replied that he wanted a rum and coke, so I rushed off to get us our drinks and told him I'd meet up with him in a minute. I lost him in the crowd in a matter of seconds and cursed myself for letting him leave in the first place.

There was a lineup for the drinks, so by the time I went looking for Harry about ten minutes had probably passed. I searched the dark room for his head of luscious curls, and spotted them in the far corner of the room. I had to push and shove through a few dancing couples and when I finally reached a clearing I realized Harry wasn't alone. In front of him was a man about my size with short brown hair. Harry was standing with his back facing me, oblivious to my approaching, and the other man was turned towards me although I didn't recognize him in the dark lighting. There was a table next to them, but neither were sitting.

"Here's your drink baby," I shouted into Harry's ear when I was close enough, stretching an arm forward to hand him his drink. I ignored the man standing before us and leaned up to peck his temple. When his arm reached for my waist, pulling me closer, I turned my attention to Harry's friend. "Who's this?" I asked sternly.

"Liam," Harry replied, squeezing my waist when he felt me tense. "Liam this is my boyfriend Louis."

I snickered, actually snickered, when Harry spoke because it was kind of ridiculous. He was introducing me to the man he had cheated on numerous times with me as if it were the most casual thing in the world - although Liam didn't know about our little façade. "Nice to meet you," Liam said, extending a hand. I merely nodded, refusing the handshake he offered because both my hands were occupied; one with my drink and the other keeping a tight grip on my boyfriend.

"How long have you guys been together?" Liam asked with an awkward smile, and I smirked cheekily when I replied. "Almost a year," I said, and Harry squeezed my hip, causing me to squirm.

"We've been friends for about a year. We only became official about three months ago, though."

I shot Harry a sideways glare at his correction, although I didn't fail to notice the drop in Liam's features when I spoke. He looked confused, and I had to hold back another laugh. I took a sip of my drink to distract myself as they continued to speak. Liam asked Harry how his exams went, and they began to speak much about nothing. My patience was diminishing with every minute, but thankfully Harry's arm never left my waist. His fingers squeezed or rubbed my sides every little while to reassure me he was still paying attention to me - but it wasn't enough attention for me.

The longer he talked to Liam, the more jealousy flared up inside of me because Liam actually seemed like a genuinely good man. Harry seemed to get along great with him, which bothered me even more. Liam didn't seem to have any particular interest in Harry anymore, but I had to show him who Harry belonged to - just in case. One thing I liked about Harry was that he didn't mind a clingy boyfriend, and I just so happened to be good at playing that role.

Harry was explaining something university related to Liam when I leaned closer into his body, the heat of his own feeling nice against mine. I clung tighter to him, nuzzling my face into his neck and placing slow, open mouthed kisses there. I could feel vibrations against my lips as he spoke, and felt him swallow sluggishly as he stopped speaking. I heard Liam reply in a quiet voice before Harry started to talk again.

Harry began to react to my touch when I reached his ear lobe. His hand squeezed my side tighter than earlier, but he managed to keep a conversation going with Liam. I extended my hand around him to place my drink on the table at his side. Now I placed my other free hand on his stomach, lightly grazing his abs through my tight shirt as I obscenely licked his ear and nibbled on it, hoping Liam was paying close attention.

My fingers trailed south, and I could hear his breath hitch as I approached his crotch. I smiled and pulled my lips off of his ear, blowing gently on it as I caught my breath. When my fingers skimmed down a little more and I applied a little pressure to his crotch, he placed his glass of liquor on the table next to mine and grabbed my wrist, pulling it up to his chest. "Louis," he warned, shooting me a strange look as he turned his attention back to Liam and I rested my forehead against his temple.

"How's your new job?" Harry asked him, keeping a grip on my wrist as his other hand still held me by the waist.

"It's good. I'm being promoted in a couple of months, which will be nice for income and stuff," he replied. I kissed Harry's cheek and turned my head to see Liam was in fact watching me closely even though he managed to keep a conversation with Harry going on. "Congratulations," I muttered dryly.

Harry said the same, except with a little more enthusiasm.

"How's your love life going, Li?" Harry continued their conversations. I growled quietly at the nickname he gave Liam, and returned to ignoring me as I proceeded to shower his neck with wet kisses. His hand released my wrist so I toyed with the collar of his, well my, shirt.

"I'm just enjoying the single life until I settle down at work. That's my main focus right now," Liam answered, and I smirked against Harry's neck. Only months ago, that wasn't his focus. His focus was Harry, and the entire time he was focused on Harry, Harry was focused on me. I should feel guilty for that, but I couldn't find it within me to care right now.

My fingers skillfully undid the top two buttons of Harry's shirt before his hands reached up to stop me, locking our fingers together and kissing my knuckle before dropping them. I was surprised by Harry's loved up action in front of Liam, and thought it was absolutely adorable how he could be so gentle with me when all I wanted was to have him pinned against a wall.

"That's good, Liam. You're still young. You've got plenty of time," Harry said with a laugh, releasing my hand again to reach for his drink. I took this advantage to spread my hand over his stomach and lean in close to whisper in his ear.

"Come dance with me, Curly."

I saw Liam's eyes on me, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he shifted awkwardly on his feet. His face was one of discomfort, and I knew it was probably because of my incessant touching. Harry just turned to look at me momentarily, so I started to pull him to the dance floor, but he wouldn't budge. "Harry," I whined like a child. When he turned to look at me again, I leaned up to catch his bottom lip between mine but he turned his head immediately after we made contact. "Not now, Lou."

He leaned away from me, pushing my hand off of his waist and taking a step to his right. I groaned, the rejection fuming the jealousy inside of me; especially when he turned towards Liam and had the audacity to apologize to him.

"Fine," I scoffed, reaching for my half-filled drink on the table. "I'm going to get a refill."

I left without another glance at Harry, hoping he'd sense my tension. He was my Harry, not Liam's. Even when he was supposed to be Liam's, he was still mine. Why was Harry so insistent on catching up with him? We haven't been together for two bloody weeks. I think I deserve the attention I'm asking for.

"Another rum and coke please," I asked the bar tender as I stepped up to the bar. He was handsome, and I recognized him from a few of our visits. In fact, he was often eyeing Harry when we were together and Harry always made sure to hold me extra tight when we ordered to make sure the gentleman watching us knew who he belonged to.

I watched Harry and Liam carefully as I sat on an open stool, not bothering to go back over. They could have their lovely quality time together - they didn't need me there. Suddenly it felt like I was the third wheel accompanying my best mate and his boyfriend on a date, not like I was the actual boyfriend. I chugged my next drink pretty quickly, demanding another glass of the burning liquid.

I was forced to watch as Harry laughed, throwing his head back and clapping his hands lightly the way he always did when I told him a joke. Another gulp of my drink and the pounding music in the background kept me distracted for a few moments. I tried not to watch them, convincing myself that it was alright. They're just friends, why are you getting so worked up over this. Hell, they're hardly even friends, I told myself over and over again but I failed to believe it. I had watched people get their heartbroken one too many times to convince myself of this.

I took another large swig, finishing my third drink with a thump as I slammed the glass on the bar. I wiped the liquid off the corner of my lips, my gaze unintentionally trailing back to the two boys in the corner. I watched, my forehead creasing in frustration - probably intensified by the alcohol - as Liam reached for Harry's shoulder. He gripped it tightly, squeezing it and giving it a good shake and I swore I growled as I watched them.

When Liam stepped forward to lean into Harry's ear, I knew I had to do something about it. I jumped off the stool, placing a few pounds on the bar for the handsome man and stormed off towards them. The crowd was thinner than before, so it was easier to get by with a few excuses and little shoves. When I stepped closer to the other lads, Liam looked over Harry's shoulder and stood up straight, taking a step back when he noticed me. Instead of getting angry at Liam for possibly flirting with my Harry, I decided using the vulnerable card would work better right now. Liam nodded his chin towards me and Harry turned around, frowning when he noticed my pout and my unsteady steps.

"Lou, are you alright?" he asked me, his arms instantly wrapping around me as I stepped into his personal bubble. I nuzzled my face in his neck, shaking my head frantically and mumbling into his skin. "Don't feel good," I said.

"What's wrong boo?" he replied, rubbing reassuring circles into my back.

"I feel ill," I said in a whiny voice, knowing this tone could do wonders when it came to getting my way.

"Did you have too much to drink?" He pressed a kiss to my temple as I spoke, and I had to hide the smug smile on my face because this was what I wanted; Harry's attention.

"No, I've only had three drinks. I've been good," I mumbled, my lips brushing against his skin.

"Alright. Maybe there was something in your drink or perhaps you've got a bug. Let's just get you home," he said with another lingering kiss to my forehead. He turned around, keeping a firm grip on my waist as my head stayed nuzzled into the crook of his neck, speaking to Liam in a quiet voice. "Suppose I'm going to take Lou home. He's not feeling very good. It was nice seeing you, maybe we'll chat soon."

I clenched my teeth as Liam stepped closer, pulling Harry in for a hug despite the fact that I was practically glued to his side. I simply nodded when he wished me better before walking off, waving to Harry one last time before heading to the bar.

"Come on, let's go flag a cab," Harry mumbled, my fist clutching a handful of his shirt tightly as he guided me to the exit. We only had to wait a couple of minutes before one of the familiar yellow vehicles pulled to the curb and Harry gave him the directions to his flat. "You're coming to mine," Harry announced to me as I settled onto his shoulder, sighing. I continued to fake sick all the way home, practically purring as Harry's hands rubbed my inner thighs and ran through his soft hair.

We walked up to their apartment, and I was stumbling a little bit because although I was faking sick, I was still a little buzzed from my drinks. Harry helped me up and swung the door open easily; welcoming me into the home I had missed during our weeks apart. "Want to go to bed, Lou? Might help-"

Harry was interrupted by my body pinning him to the wall next to the door, his back hitting the hard surface with a loud exhale of breath. "Louis," Harry said in a hushed voice before my warm lips enveloped his fiercely.

My fingers immediately began to undo his buttons as our lips moved together desperately, tongues tasting every inch of each others mouths and teeth occasionally tugging on lips. My fingers were shaking when I reached the bottom of his button up, spreading it open so that I could feel his hard, toned body with my fingers.

"Louis, I thought you were ill," he muttered when my lips moved down to attack his neck, trailing open mouthed kisses down his pale torso. I ignore his words and instead stood up again to look at him intensely.

"You're mine," I growled, my fingers running across fresh love bites on his collarbone and jaw from earlier today. They were claims on him; markings to prove who he belonged to.

"I know," he replied, to which I pressed him harder against the wall, my hands reaching up to his hair. I fisted his hair as I pulled his head down to rest our foreheads together, my breathing heavy.

"Do you?" I said between gritted teeth.

"Yeah baby, I do," he groaned, and I felt his long fingers sliding up my back. Goosebumps rose beneath the material of my shirt as he skimmed across it, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of them.

"Then why were you with him," I hissed, one of my hands now cupping the back of his neck, my thumb running across his jaw. The jealousy was raging inside of me, and Harry's fingers fisted into my shirt as his breathing became unsteady as well.

"We were just talking, Lou-"

"Tonight was supposed to be about us," I said, my voice rising a bit. Harry flinched and a soft whine left his throat.

"It was baby, it is-"

"Then why were you with him," I demanded again, one of my legs stepping between Harry's legs to pin him to the wall even more.

"I don't know, Lou," he confessed and I crashed my lips to his hungrily, my teeth clasping his bottom lip when I pulled away.

"I think I need to remind you who you belong to," I said, my voice lower and raspier than usual. Harry moaned at my suggestion, but jumped when we heard a clatter in the next room. I cursed under my breath, knowing Niall must be in the kitchen. We'd have to take this somewhere else. I mean how indecent would it be to bend Harry backwards with his friend roaming around.

"Go to your bedroom. If you're not naked on the bed when I get in there you'll be sorry." My voice was merely a suggestive whisper as I nibbled on Harry's ear, lifting myself off of his body and watching him speed walk to the bedroom, his hands already fumbling with his belt.

I decided to pop into the kitchen to compose myself for a minute, receiving an enthusiastic hello from Niall.

"Where's Harry?" he asked, looking over my shoulder in search of the curly haired boy.

"He's in his room waiting for me ," I said with a chuckle, perhaps a little too smugly. I didn't have to be protective of him over Niall anymore. I knew Niall's intentions. I was more afraid of what Liam had planned.

"I know you've been apart for ages, did you want me to go to Jill's for the night? Give you lot some privacy?" I smiled at Niall's words, finding it quite amusing how he knew what my plans for the night were.

"You don't have to. I'll keep him quiet," I replied with a wink. I grabbed a glass of water, downing the clear liquid within a minute before bouncing towards the bedroom.

I swung the door open, my anger somehow recollecting itself as I thought of Liam and Harry together. My Harry.

As ordered, Harry was stripped on the bed, his clothes scattered messily on the floor. To my surprise though, his legs were wide open and he had a bottle of lube opened next to him on the bed. His fingers were pumping slowly in and out of his entrance, his head thrown back in ecstasy as he moaned my name.

"Louis," he groaned, his eyes searching for me when he heard the door swing open.

"Christ, Harry."

I scrambled to unbutton my pants and shirt, probably setting a record for the amount of time it took me to strip. Harry watched me hungrily, the green in his eyes clouded over by a dark shade of desperation.

Once I was stark naked I stumbled over to the bed and threw myself on top of Harry. I grabbed his wrist, slowly pulling his fingers out of himself. He whined at the emptiness but I shut him up with a kiss, his tongue

instantly lashing out against mine.

I pulled back, admiring his body beneath mine. I moved to straddle his hips, looking down at him as he panted, his trembling hands gripping the sheets. My fingers reached down to trace the shape of purple love bites on his skin, and he looked up at me intently as I did so.

"Who gave you these?" I demanded, squeezing Harry's nipple when he didn't answer straightaway. "Answer me!"

"You. You gave me them, Lou." His voice was shaky and breathless, one of his hands reaching up to touch my collarbone, skimming a finger along it. "Just like I gave you that."

"Why did you give me that?" I asked.

"Because I love you," he sighed, and I almost cooed at his words but knew I had to keep my rough composure.

"Why else?"

"Because you're mine, Lou." His fingers reached for my hand, guiding it from his chest to the bottle of lube next to him on the bed.

"Show me who I belong to," he continued, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped, watching me intently. "Remind me."

My fingers clutched the bottle, obeying his demands as I squirted some of the thick liquid onto my fingers. I spread his legs wider and teased his entrance before pushing a slicked finger past the muscle, watching his face contort to one of pleasure as I pushed in past the knuckle.

"Harry do you love him?" I asked harshly, watching as Harry shook his head frantically and muttered a no. "Would you let him touch you like this?"

He shook his head no again, moaning as I started a steady pace, bending my finger and twisting it the way he liked.

"Who gets to touch you like this?"

"Y-You," he stuttered, his eyes closing when I added another finger. "Anybody else?" I asked, one of my hands reaching for his fringe, tugging the hair to force him to look at me.

"Nobody else. Just you."

"Who am I?" I whispered.

"Louis," he groaned, and I admired the way his voice shook when I added a third finger, twisting and turning them to stretch him just right.

"Say it again," I said in a hushed voice, my blue eyes meeting his in an intense stare as he let me name tumble from his mouth again, his lips moving slowly and his tongue brushing over the chapped red after he spoke.

When I felt like Harry was stretched enough, whining and writhing beneath me, I pulled out my fingers, wiping them on the sheet. "You want more baby?" I leaned down to whisper in his ear, my tongue grazing his earlobe.

"Please, Lou. Please."

"Alright, 'm gonna need you to be quiet though. Niall's in this apartment, and we don't want him to hear you now, do we? Because only I get to hear you, right?" I asked, claiming yet another part of him because Harry was all mine.

"Right," he said, reaching his hands up to pull me down towards him, catching my lips in a short kiss. "I love you so much," he whispered, holding me down so that our cheeks were pressed together, his unsteady breath fanning my skin.

"I love you too. You're all mine, Curly," I growled. "I love every piece of you."

"Need you now Lou," Harry whined, his fingers brushing back a piece of fringe that was covering my eyes. "Please sweetheart."

His voice was so weak and desperate, and his hard member against my stomach proved that he really needed some release. I could say the same for myself, as well. My fingers fumbled against the mattress for the lube as our lips met again in a sweet, much gentler kiss than expected before I gripped the bottle, crawling back down to sit between his legs again.

I squeezed more of the clear liquid onto my hand and slicked myself up before hovering above Harry again. His legs instinctively wrapped around my waist, his ankles locked above my bum as I lined myself up. I placed a few kisses on his torso before pushing myself in, feeling him tense at the feeling. "Relax," I mumbled, staying still and running my fingers through his curls and on the soft skin of his face until he nodded.

I started slow, enjoying the quiet moans Harry was emitting beneath me and the feel of his fingernails scraping my back. We shared sloppy kisses occasionally, other times his head was thrown back against the pillow as he bit back the loud moans he knew he couldn't release. "Faster," he eventually groaned, and I obliged.

The room was eery and silent around us, Harry's grunts echoing through the room along with our panting. Our sweat stained bodies rubbed together in a way that only we ever got to experience. Nobody else could feel Harry like this. Nobody else could hear his pants and moans and begging. Nobody else would ever get to kiss Harry or cuddle him or fuck him because he was all mine.

I knew Harry was close, his moans becoming louder and louder with every thrust. This was a frequent thing for him, he always got mouthier when he was nearing his peak. I hushed him with a hand over his mouth, the other reaching up to grip the headboard, steadying myself as my body trembled, knowing I was close.

"Want us to come together," I told Harry, and he nodded. His eyes were darker than earlier, damp hair sticking to his sweat ridden forehead. "When you do, I want you to tell me who you belong to."

I heard him groan beneath my palm that still covered his mouth, his eyes rolling to the back of his head in pleasure as I hit a nerve deep inside of him. When I was just on the verge of reaching the edge, I moved that hand down to stroke his dick quickly, my wrist flicking and my thumb rubbing against the slit. He was shaking now, his legs tensing around me as his body filled with ecstacy and I knew he was about to come undone.

"Come for me," I whispered into his ear, my lips brushing against it.

My fist was instantly being covered with his load after I spoke. His head was thrown back and he was moaning my name over and over again. I came inside of him as well at the sight of it all, riding through my high despite Harry's sensitivity. With shaky fingers, Harry reached up to stroke my cheek, his green eyes piercing mine adoringly.

I pulled out after catching my breath a little bit, just admiring the way Harry smiled up at my and continued to brush his fingertips against my cheek. My trembling body immediately fell on top of Harry's, only to feel lean arms wrap around my slim figure and his swollen lips planting delicate kisses on my nose, cheeks and forehead.

"Do you know how much you mean to me, love?" Harry grumbled, holding both sides of my cheeks and assuring that I was looking at him. "You have to stop doubting me. I'm yours, nobody else's. Our love is a promise to each other, I wouldn't ever break that you know."

"I know, curly. I know," I sighed, kissing the frown off of his lips before settling myself on his chest and closing my eyes, hoping to catch some decent sleep.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

That next week was pure and utter bliss. Of course I had to go to work, but Harry had the entire week off, and never let me leave his house without a goodmorning kiss, or a decent breakfast he prepared for me. He even made me a lunch box that held a cute little note every single day. When I got home, as soon as I could because I couldn’t stand being away from him for a long time, he would be there, waiting for me with dinner he usually already prepared. Niall was there sometimes, but he spent some days with Jill, or she came to join us. Evenings were cosy, us being cuddled up on the couch being the rule rather than the exception. The nights that followed were sometimes steamy, sometimes romantic and sometimes just spent with sleeping away our exhaustion in each other’s arms. I loved Harry, and I loved spending all of my free time with him and I made sure to tell him several times each day. At the end of the week he just smiled at me whenever I told him, or cooed how adorable I was. Anyone else telling me I was adorable and I would’ve murdered them violently, but not him. He was and forever would be the only person who was allowed to embarrass me a little.

We made plans to visit my family, as well as his, around Easter, which gave us some more time to prepare for the horrible meet the family-moment. Although I was sure Harry’s family would be as magnificent as the boy himself. The more time I spent with Harry, at his and Niall’s flat, the more annoyed I got at the lack of privacy we had sometimes. I couldn’t keep track of the times Niall had walked in to a heated snogging session on the couch or in the kitchen, and even though none of us made a big deal out of it, it only added to a plan that had slowly formed in my mind. It was Sunday afternoon, we’d only just gotten out of bed after sleeping away our tiredness and hangover from clubbing last night. Niall had gone home with Jill, properly wasted as well, so we both hadn’t bothered to put any clothes on apart from our underwear. An old black and white movie was playing on the tv as Harry laid spread out on the couch beneath me. My hips rested between his legs as my head was on his chest, his solid heart beat a comforting sound in my ear as I played with his fingers.

“Harry?” I bit my lip, even now I wasn’t exactly sure if it was a good idea to bring it up, let alone how to do so.

“Hmmm?” he shifted a little and pressed a kiss on my hair, making me smile.

“I’ve been thinking about something…”

“Oh, did you hurt yourself love?” he smirked, earning him a slap on his bare arm.

“No, but seriously…”

He moved a little so he was looking at me rather than at the tv and watched me expectantly. “Yes?”

“How about…maybe… What would you say about moving in with me?” I kept my eyes trained on his chest rather than his face, suddenly a bit scared of his reaction. It wasn’t that I doubted his love for me, but after all, we weren’t officially together for that long, so maybe he’d think we’d be moving too fast if we moved in together.

“Move in with you?” he sounded a bit stunned at the question, obviously not expecting it.

“Uhm, yeah…we’d of course have a little more privacy, but just… we spend all our time together anyway baby. I mean, either I’m here or you’re at mine, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Those two weeks without you were a proper hell. And I promise, even solemnly swear that I will give you the time and space you need to study. We could turn my spare room into a study for you and if you’re there, I’ll leave you alone and I won’t try and seduce you like I did when you stayed over before your exams.” I rambled, afraid he wouldn’t hear me out if I slowed down the slightest bit.

“Lou…” he started, pushing me up so he could sit up straight as well. He crossed his legs in front of him and made me turn towards him, holding my chin up in his palm.“Love, it’s really not that I don’t want to spend all my time with you, because like you said, it’s what we already do anyway.”

“But?” I requested, knowing that I was about to face rejection anyway.

“I really can’t move out here Lou. I share the rent with Niall and I really, really can’t expect him to cover for it on his own. We had an agreement to share the flat as long as we were both at uni, so I can’t break that promise to him. No matter how much I’d like living with you, I just can’t right now.”

“Oh. And what if Niall would get Jill to move in?” I tried turning the tables.

“Lou… baby. They’ve only been together for a couple of months. And besides, I’ve heard that Jill lives in a tiny student flat from uni, so I’m pretty sure she won’t be able to afford half the rent of this place. Please, please try to understand that I’m not rejecting you, it’s just not possible right now.”

I nodded, my eyes cast down as they prickled with tears. I knew he didn’t mean to hurt me, but it stung that he had rejected my offer. His fingers reached for my cheek again, pulling my face up so I was forced to look him in the eye.

“Hey… Lou…don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry.” I sniffled, gratefully burying my face into his shoulder when he pulled me closer.

“Shhhhh. It’s alright. I promise you that we’ll move in together as soon as I graduate, alright?”

I nodded against his skin, cursing the salty tears that had managed to escape.

“And in the mean time…” he sighed. “Maybe I can discuss with Niall if he’d agree to let you move some of your stuff here, if we all share electricity, gas and water bills. And groceries, of course.”

“You’d do that?” I sniffled, shifting to look at him.

“Sure.” He nodded, making a small smile break through my tears.

I went home later that evening as I had realized I had an important case to discuss at work the next day, and of course I’d left the file as home. Other than that, I’d gone through the amount of fresh clothes I’d brought to Harry’s and I couldn’t keep borrowing his underwear. We had some left over pizza together and after that, I left.

My house was ever so boring when Harry wasn’t around, but there was a rather good comedy show on to distract me from missing him. It didn’t stop me from glancing over to my phone every other minute to see if he had sent me a text yet though. I had vowed not to be the first one to text him, wanting to tone down my clinginess a little even though I couldn’t help feeling insecure. It was my first serious relationship ever, and it wasn’t like I had seen any good examples while I was growing up. Harry tried to assure me as much as possible, but I still remained afraid that one day he would just get up and leave me, like my mother had done to my dad. I sighed and took another handful of the salty crisps I had treated myself to, stuffing my mouth so the crackling sound formed a distraction for my thoughts. I was about to go to bed, having a really, really hard time not to grab my stuff and just go back to Harry’s to spend the night when finally my phone started buzzing on the armrest of the couch.

_Spoke to Niall. He’s happy his bills will go down, and almost nothing will change since you pretty much live here anyway. When are we moving your stuff? ;) Love, H_

A big grin spread on my face as my fingers flew over the keys. _Right now? ;) Or you could help me pack this week and move everything next weekend? Miss you! XX_

_How about you come help me pack for this week right now and cuddle me to sleep? I’ve got nothing planned for next weekend. Miss you too babe. X_

_ON MY WAY!!!!!_ I quickly sent my reply and ran over to my bedroom to grab my clothes for the next day, along with the file I needed. I almost broke about 5 laws on my way, but I somehow managed to park my car in front of his building without being pulled over or causing an accident. The big smile never left my face as I ran up the stairs to his door, my fingers shaking a little so I had a hard time finding the right key and putting it in the lock properly. I was juggling with my keys for a while, having dropped them on the floor for at least three times when he probably heard me from inside and the door swung open.

“Welcome home, sweetheart.” He softly spoke, a warm smile reaching up to his eyes as I threw my arms around his neck, my lips moving against his in a sweet kiss.

I helped him pack his clothes and books for uni so he wouldn’t have to come back to his apartment for the rest of the week, enjoying the cup of tea he had brewed us. We were both tired after that, and had to get up early, but that didn’t keep us from making love. It was long, sweet and slow. I loved how we seemed to reinvent the sex we had every time again, I was absolutely sure it would never get boring with him.

The next morning, I was the first one to be awake for once, and I decided to reciprocate his kindness and make him breakfast and lunch to take with him before I went to work. He still wasn’t up when I had to leave, which left me a bit disappointed as I didn’t get my morning kiss, but I left him a note that his breakfast was waiting in the fridge.

_Thanks for making my lunch, I’m sure it’ll be as delicious as you (and as breakfast) ;) Love, H_

I had to suppress a smile when I read his text during my meeting, instead putting on a serious face as we continued to discuss some important matters. Although important was very relative since I’d found Harry.

***

I looked around my bedroom for one last time, glancing over to the three suitcases in the hallway. There were two more cardboard boxes filled with books, movies and other random things I’d want at my new apartment that Harry had already taken down to my car. My gaze rested on the framed picture of me, my dad and Lottie that stood on my night stand and after hesitating for a while, I threw it in the last bag I was now packing. Before I could pack more things I wouldn’t really need, Harry appeared in the doorframe again, leaning against the wood as he watched me with a smile on his face.

“Ready love?”he asked, my smile reflecting on his face as I nodded.

“Yes. Totally.”I replied before I remembered something and walked over to my dresser. I pulled open the top drawer and held up the things I almost forgot, evoking a chuckle from Harry as he saw what it was: two unopened bottles of lube and a pack of flavoured condoms. We’d both gotten our blood taken and were declared perfectly healthy and disease-free months ago so we hardly used any condoms anymore, but sometimes it was fun to have a banana flavoured blow job. Or raspberry, they were my personal favourite, especially because the taste and scent complimented Harry’s perfectly.

I put those last things in my bag and swung it over my shoulder before I walked up to him, sharing another sweet kiss before we headed out. Harry took two of the heavily loaded suitcases as I took the third one, my keys dangling between my teeth so I could lock up my flat after turning off water, gas and electricity.

It was a short drive to Harry’s flat, or I should call it our flat now, and it took us two runs up and down the stairs to get all my stuff into Harry’s room. Harry decided he was hungry and steered me to the kitchen to make lunch before we’d unpack and rearrange the wardrobe to fit all my clothes inside. I rolled my eyes at him since it was only just past noon, but followed him there nevertheless, mouth watering at the hot tomato-mozzarella sandwiches he’d promised me earlier.

I was babbling along about how we could best organize things in his room and the bathroom, but stopped mid-sentence when I noticed a flag line and a large banner hanging from one end of the kitchen to the other, Niall, Jill and my Harry underneath it with party hats and whistles. I got tears in my eyes as I read the banner that said ‘Welcome home Louis’ and giggled at the sight of the cupcakes with the same words scribbled on in pink glazing. First I gave Harry a slap to the back of his head for a) his silliness, b) keeping this a secret and c) looking like a downright idiot with the hat on his curls but then kissed him deeply to thank him for organizing this party for me. Niall and Jill had prepared the sandwiches for us, and after we all were stuffed, they left to get ready for a party of one of Jill’s friends, leaving Harry and I to unpack and rearrange everything around the house.

***

It was a Thursday evening, halfway through April, a week before Easter, when I was waiting for Harry and Niall to come home. They had late classes on Thursdays so I usually got home before them, but Harry had ordered me not to make dinner because I had once managed to burn an omelet that bad that the fire alarm had gone off. Oops. Ever since, I wasn’t allowed to cook without his supervision. I was going through a magazine, not really noticing what I was reading but it helped to kill time.

“Lou! We’re home!” I had heard his key turn in the lock and had pretty much jumped up at the sound, hungry and eager to see my boyfriend and spend the night with him. He’d been studying a lot this week, so I really looked forward to an evening full of cuddling and lovey dovey things.

I was still on my way to the hallway to greet him while I already started asking him about dinner, the living room door keeping me from seeing him.

“Hey.” He greeted and kissed me on the lips as he opened the door, his smile soft and warm as ever, making me feel loved. “We ran into Liam on the way and he didn’t have any plans, so he’s staying over for dinner. We already ordered Chinese, Niall’s downstairs paying the delivery guy.”

It was only then that I noticed the other guy behind Harry, holding his hand up and waving at me in an obviously uncomfortable way. Good. He should be uncomfortable if he was ruining my night in with Harry. I forced a smile on my face but it probably was very obvious that it was a fake one. “Oh. Hi Liam.” I said fake-sweetly.

“Uhm. Yeah, hi Louis.” He stammered, an equally fake smile tugging on his lips.

Harry didn’t seem to pick up on the awkwardness of the situation and just continued the conversation they had obviously started before arriving home. When Niall came through the front door with the food, he went to get some plates in the kitchen while Niall and I set up everything at the coffee table. Harry was kind enough to sit next to me, while Liam shared a couch with Niall, but it didn’t matter much. He didn’t even notice that I was hardly talking all night, while the three of them were in a lively conversation about university or Liam’s job, and it didn’t seem to matter if I was there or not. It wasn’t that I didn’t try to get Harry’s attention, I put my arm around his shoulder, cuddled up against him and in the end almost curled up in his lap, but still he hardly noticed me. Sure, he squeezed my hand at times, and he would press a kiss to my forehead or even to my lips when I was really lucky, but he didn’t properly look at me more than ten times during the entire evening.

When it was nearing eleven, I got really fed up with it. Liam was his ex-boyfriend for Christ’s sake, who he cheated on with me, and here he was, getting all of Harry’s attention, and even Niall’s too, while I seemed to disappear into thin air. I yawned loudly a couple of times, but none of them seemed to notice, or if they did, they didn’t care. I was actually getting pretty tired and I had to get up early, but I had decided a bit overacting wouldn’t hurt. It didn’t help either though, so after half an hour of trying to give hints, including pretending to fall asleep with my head on Harry’s shoulder, I just got up and announced that I was going to bed.

“Oh, okay, goodnight love.” Harry smiled. It was practically impossible to be mad at him when he smiled up at me like that, so I smiled back and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

“Are you coming to bed soon?” I whispered against his lips, my heart sinking as he shrugged.

“Don’t know, we’ll see. Don’t wait up for me, okay?” was his reply, his voice still warm and sweet. Sometimes my Harry really was oblivious.

“Okay. See you tomorrow evening then.” I didn’t even pause to say proper goodnights to Niall and Liam, just waved and muttered something that vaguely sounded like goodnight before I strutted towards our bedroom, the sheets cold against my body and the bed far too big for me alone.

***

The Saturday morning before Easter was when we had planned to drive down to Holmes Chapel to visit Harry’s family. We’d stay there for the day and would drive to Doncaster to spend the night and the next day with my dad and Lottie. I grunted when my alarm went off and slammed the snooze button three times before I decided it was really time to get up. Harry was still snoring loudly next to me, a bit strange since he usually woke up from the first sound of my alarm, so I turned to wake him up. My hand reached for his forehead, but I frowned when I noticed the beads of sweat pearling all over, and the heat his skin radiated. Even when I was five inches away from him, I could feel him burning up. I didn’t bother waking him, but instead went for a shower myself, spent half an hour looking for the thermometer and some paracetamol and made him breakfast. He was still fast asleep when I came back into the room with a steaming cup of tea and a piece of toast, so I put the tray down on his nightstand as I sat down on his side of the bed.

“Harry, babe?”I whispered, my hand softly shaking his shoulder until his eyes fluttered halfway open. He grunted and one of his hands flew towards his forehead as he scrunched up his nose in pain. “Headache?” He nodded but stopped midway because that seemed to even aggravate his pain.

“Yeah, everything hurts.” He whined quietly, his face pale yet an unnatural blush grazing his cheeks.

I forced the thermometer into his mouth and softly kissed his temple while we waited for it to beep.

“You’ve got a fever babe. Take some tablets, have tea and toast and go back to sleep, alright?”

“But we were going to visit our parents this weekend,” he started to protest but shut up when he noticed my raised eyebrow.

“You’re ill, the only thing you’d be doing there is spread your germs. I’ll notify your mum and my dad, and we’ll reschedule.” I told him firmly and handed him his pills together with the cup of tea. His face scrunched up when he swallowed and he hardly finished half his cup before his eyes started to droop. “Sleep, baby.” I whispered, pressing another kiss to his temple before I took his mug from him and went to the kitchen with the dishes. I called his mum and my dad and explained how he was ill, promising them I’d give him their love and tell him they wished him well and spent the rest of the day running back and forth between the couch and our room.

My long weekend off work was spent mostly with nursing Harry. By Monday, he was feeling better but not capable to do much more than hang on the couch and watch TV. So long for spending an entire weekend together and enjoying each other’s company.

On Tuesday morning, I was the one burning up, my head pounding and muscles that I didn’t even know I had hurting all over my body. Harry did his best to be a thoughtful nurse, and even though he wasn’t feeling brilliant, he did quite a good job. He tried to squeeze in some studying, but I felt like he was paying me more attention now than the weeks before. On Friday, I felt pretty good, but I enjoyed being nursed by Harry far too much to tell him.

“Morning.” I mumbled as I woke up, spotting him at his desk on the other side of the room. He saved his work on his laptop and turned around before getting up.

“Morning baby, how are you feeling today?” he asked, walking towards where I was laying and pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“Hmmm, a bit better, I suppose.” I muttered, a halfhearted smile ghosting my lips.

“Good,” he smiled back. “What would you like for breakfast?” I suspected that he knew very well that I was playing it up a little, but I was grateful that he played along.

“Just some cereal and orange juice?” I asked and he chuckled.

“Coming right up.” He winked and I smiled brightly at his pretty face.

I nuzzled back into the pillows and picked up the book I had started reading the day before while I waited for my breakfast. Harry came in not long after with a bowl of cereal and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and crawled back in bed next to me while I ate. His head rested on my shoulder and his long fingers were spread out on my belly, just the way I liked it.

It was easy to forget the bad moments when we were together like this, he was my entire universe and he didn’t even mind.

I had to go back to work the next week. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it since I knew there would be a large pile of work waiting for me from when I was sick, but knowing Harry was at home when I came back made everything better. He spent his days studying and writing 10 page long essays but the evenings were reserved just for us. At least, for a while.

***

 

It was Thursday evening, and tonight was the first night in almost two weeks that it was just Niall, Harry and me at home. All the other nights, either a friend had stayed over (mostly Liam, making me dislike him even more while Niall only seemed to appreciate his company better every time) or Harry had gone out with friends from university. I didn’t mind him spending time with his friends, and of course I understood they wanted to go out now, while their exams were still over a month away, but enough was enough. We had hardly spoken to each other apart from good morning and good night, and when I was lucky he’d ask me how my day was over dinner. I was fed up with it, and even though it made me feel like a needy, whiny toddler, I tried to find every possible way to get his attention. Without success. I had even talked to my dad about it, we had skyped on Tuesday, Harry had gone out again and I’d locked myself up in the bedroom. Dad said it was only natural, we were getting out of the honeymoon stage of our relationship, and trying to find a new equilibrium to fit each other into our own lives now the novelty had worn off. I had shrugged and muttered he was probably right, but there was still a dark, pessimistic voice in the back of my mind. Because how could I trust my dad’s relationship advice when the only long term relationship he’d ever had, ended up in his wife leaving him while nobody expected it.

Tonight, at least he had stayed at home and nobody came to join us. Unfortunately, I had some work to finish before a big meeting with a client at work the next day, so I was unable to join Harry and Niall on the couch while they watched a football game. Maybe it was just me being gloomy, but it seemed as if even that was different than before. Harry never even so much as glanced at me while I sat at the table, reading through the file and typing away on my laptop. A couple of weeks ago, he would’ve asked me how I was doing and if I needed anything, but not anymore. When I was finally pleased with the work I’d done, I shut down my laptop and rubbed my eyes, suddenly noticing how tired I was. I took a look at the TV and noticed the football match had ended and they were now watching the rerun of last week’s Graham Norton show, both of them animatedly commenting on what was said on the show.

“Sweetie I’m going to bed, are you coming?” I asked sweetly, leaning over the back of the couch next to where his head was resting against it.

He turned his head and returned my smile, shifting a bit to be able to peck my lips.

“No, you go ahead love, I want to see this.” He replied after letting go. My smile disappeared within milliseconds and I nodded shortly before I stood up straight again.

‘”Sure. Goodnight then. Sleep tight, Niall.”

“Night, Lou!”Niall replied, smiling and waving at me as I walked to the bedroom.

I couldn’t believe he didn’t get it, didn’t see how much I longed to spend time with him, cuddle with him in a conscious state rather than when he was intoxicated and I was half asleep when he came home.

I pulled of my clothes and threw a punch at his pillow before I climbed between the sheets, tears prickling behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I was mad at him, and I didn’t want the madness to change into sadness, I wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him if I did, and he deserved it.

I was still fuming, and wide awake, when he came into our room. It must’ve been at least an hour after I’d gone to bed, and he tried his best not to wake me up while undressing and getting into bed. I felt the mattress dip behind me as he slid in between the sheets and it stayed quiet for a while after that.

“Lou? Are you awake?” he whispered. I suspected he must’ve listened to my breathing and concluded it was shallower and faster than when I was sleeping. I didn’t reply though, just remained quiet and as still as I could manage while anger was still raging through me.

“Lou?” He scooted closer and put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his chest.

I grabbed his hand and threw it off me, suddenly feeling physically sick at the feeling of him touching me while I was so angry with him. “Don’t touch me.” I growled, and finally he got the message.

He sat up and flicked on the lamp on his nightstand. “Lou? What’s going on?”

I let out a laugh but it sounded fake and harsh in the silence of our bedroom, my back still turned to him. “What’s going on? Are you kidding me Harry?”

I could hear him attempting to say something but nothing came out. After a little while, he just put his hand on my shoulder, quickly pulling it back as I shrugged him off.“Louis, are you mad?” He questioned.

I sat up as well and looked at him, my lips pressed together in a thin line. “No shit Sherlock. Maybe you’re smarter than I gave you credit for after all. You want to cuddle? Why don’t you go and sleep with Niall then? Or the TV? Since both of them are obviously more important than I am.” I spat.

“What?” he seemed genuinely confused, but I wasn’t in the mood to explain my anger to him.“Lou, what are you talking about?”

I snorted and shook my head as I got up from the bed. I walked over to the cupboard and grabbed the extra blanket we kept there before I turned back to him one last time. “I suggest you think about that on your own Harry. I’ll be on the couch, don’t bother to come looking for me, I’m not going to listen to your excuses tonight anyway.”

I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and walked out of our bedroom with long strides, leaving a confused Harry behind. Much to my relief, the living room was dark and empty when I got downstairs, so I installed myself on the couch for a short yet restless night.

 

The next morning, I got up earlier than usual, trying to avoid Harry as much as possible, but to no avail. When I came out of the bathroom, hair still damp from the shower, he was waiting for me in the kitchen.

“Louis, can we please talk?” he pleaded, his voice sounding as if he hadn’t slept at all, and judging from the bags under his eyes, that was exactly the case.

“No. I’m going to work.” I answered, keeping my own voice even and as cold as I could manage. It was hard not to crack at the sight of Harry being so confused and broken, but then I remembered why I was angry and it all became easier again.

“Tonight then?”He honestly looked like he was prepared to fall down on his knees to beg me.

“Maybe.” I replied, grabbing a few slices of bread from the cabinet, stuffing them in my mouth as I walked back to the living room to get my bag and laptop and head out for work.

My meeting went fairly well, but I knew I didn’t have myself to thank for that. I was distracted all day long, and lucky I had such a wonderful assistant who saved the day for me. I reminded myself to buy her a big box of chocolates and some flowers the next week as I bid her goodbye and wished everyone in the office a nice weekend before stepping into the elevator.

I didn’t go home that night. I didn’t want to face Harry. Not yet. He had called me at least 20 times during the day, both on my cell and through my office, but I had ignored all his calls. I was still too angry with him to talk while he still didn’t realise what he had done wrong.

Instead I went to my own apartment. I unlocked the door and cringed at the layer of dust on the floors and all surfaces. I hadn’t even bothered to turn the electricity or the gas back on, just flung myself down on the couch with a blanket that had been left behind and stared out of the window until there was nothing left to see because it was too dark outside. My phone stayed remarkably silent all night, apparently Harry had finally got the message and stopped calling me. Until about ten, that is. The ringtone for a text message sounded through the eerily quiet apartment, startling me so much that I even forgot that I didn’t want to hear or see anything that had to do with Harry.

_Lou? Where are you? Are you alright? I’m worried because you didn’t come home. And I miss you. Please let me know if you’re okay?_

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, contemplating if I should reply or not when my phone buzzed again in my hand.

_Lou, I’m still not sure what got you so angry all of a sudden, but whatever I did wrong, I’m sorry. I love you. I really do, and I hope you know that._

I sighed again and typed a reply before I picked up my stuff from the floor in the hallway and went back downstairs to my car.

_I’m on my way home._

Both Harry and Niall were in the living room when I entered, I just dropped my bag on the floor next to the stairs and threw my coat over the banister as I walked towards the couch where Harry was. Niall had gotten up as soon as I entered and muttered something about going over to Jill’s before he fled faster than lightning. I sat down and took a long gulp from the bottle of coke that was on the coffee table, suddenly feeling dehydrated.

He looked at me with big eyes filled with sorrow and regret, and if the situation were any different, I’d probably have smiled at him. “Louis… I’m still not sure what got you mad, and I know I’m probably not making this any better by saying so, but I really never meant to hurt you in any way, I promise.” he finally brought out, his voice barely more than a whisper.

I felt a smile tugging on my lips and no matter how much I tried to stop it, I couldn’t. He looked so vulnerable, breakable even, and still he was so sweet, and above all, he was the man I loved. I buried my face in my hands and took a couple of deep breaths before I looked up at him again and opened my mouth to start explaining.

“I’m not even sure what hurts me the most, Harry. What happened or the fact that you’re completely oblivious about it happening and my feelings because of it.” I sighed. He frowned, looking even more confused and he started to say something but I raised my hand, gesturing him to shut up and let me talk first.

“I’ve thought about it until my head hurt but I can’t figure it out, I can’t find a pattern in it, I just know it happens sometimes. Sometimes it’s like that for days and sometimes it’s just once and the next day you’re back to normal. But yesterday, it just all got too much and I couldn’t handle it anymore.” I shifted and reached out for the bottle of coke again before I continued, trying to ignore Harry’s eyes boring into mine.

“Look, Harry, sometimes it’s just like I don’t exist. Not only because you go out a lot and I choose not to come. Honestly, I came with you and your uni friends once and I don’t exactly fancy doing that again. It’s not that you’re not allowed to go out on your own either, and I wouldn’t even mind you going out four days a week if you treated me differently on the days you stayed in. Not once in the last two weeks we spent an evening together. Either one of your friends, preferably Liam, came over, or you went out on your own. On Saturday we went clubbing but then again, there was Liam who you deemed more important to talk to than spend time with me. Yesterday, I had work to do so I didn’t mind you watching football with Niall. Not at all, but I missed you so much, and I just hoped you felt the same way so you’d come to bed with me. But again, someone or something else, or both, was more important than me.”

“Louis! I honestly had no idea that’s how you felt!” he took advantage of me taking another mouthful of coke but I silenced him again.

“I know I’m not the most confident guy in the world Harry, especially when it comes to relationships, but trust me, I really tried to tell myself I was overreacting. I really tried to assure myself about this, that you would have time and attention for me the next day, or the day after, but that moment just never came.”

“Sorry.” He muttered and I managed a small smile.

“I know I can be really clingy and I love how you never tell me off for it, even though I’m sure it has to annoy you sometimes. But I don’t like it if I feel like it’s the only way to ever get some attention from you. And even that doesn’t always do the trick.”

I could see the gears shifting in his mind and suddenly it all clicked in its place, his eyes widening in realisation before he softly spoke. “You really don’t like Liam, do you?”

I chuckled humourlessly. “No. And I know it’s not even fair because I hardly know him, and I know I never really gave him a chance. But what I dislike most is how you act when he’s around. I could do a fucking striptease or even a lap dance and you wouldn’t notice me because the two of you are talking. It’s like I’m not even in the room sometimes!” I had managed to stay calm all the time but now my voice rose a little, causing Harry to flinch and bite his bottom lip.

“I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry Lou, I really am. I never realised this was happening, nor how much it hurt you.”

“I know, I just hope you realise now.”

“I do, I really do.” He sighed and looked at the floor, both of us sitting in silence for a little while. His eyes were moist when he looked up again. “I… It’s just… My friends from uni, they kept telling me how I had disappeared from the surface of the earth, and I felt like I had to make up for lost time. So I went out with them a lot, a lot more than I did ever before, it usually was just once a week or even less. But now I felt guilty if they asked me to come and I denied, so I went along whenever I was free. And I didn’t even think about how you felt about that. And Liam… I know he’s been around a lot, and I can see why you’d feel threatened by him, even though I can assure you there’s absolutely no reason to feel that way. I felt like I owed him a friendship, after treating him like I did last summer, even if he didn’t know about it, and after a while I really started considering him a friend, and Niall felt the same. So it was easy, because inviting Liam over and spending time with him and Niall gave me quality time with two friends in one night. But again, I didn’t consider your feelings about it all. And I see now that all you tried to do was get my attention, but I didn’t see that. I just thought you were being clingy and annoying and maybe even hoped it would stop if I ignored it for long enough.”

“I don’t handle being ignored very well.” I added in with a smile, causing him to smile back at me.

“No, you just turn it up a notch, don’t you?”

“Yep. That should teach you.”

He chuckled.“I’m sorry Lou, I suppose I didn’t do a very good job trying to go back to my old life and fitting our relationship in at the same time.”

“I know it’s not easy. My dad called it the honeymoon stage being over.” I replied, scooting over to the end of the couch closest to the one he was sitting on.

“You even talked to your dad about it?” he asked and winced when I nodded. “Ouch, I screwed up really bad huh?”

I let out a breathy laugh as I nodded. “Yeah, you did.” I was glad we were being less awkward though. Everything that needed to be said was now said, and it felt good to be able to put in a joke or two. I watched him stand up and walk over until he stood in front of me, his hands reaching out for mine.

I took them and allowed him to pull me up, though I still had to look up to him.

“Please forgive me?” he whispered, his breath hot on my face.

“If you promise to not be an asshole again.” I replied and smiled when he nodded frantically.

“Let’s figure out how we can prevent this from happening again, yeah?” he asked, biting his lip again in that most adorable way.

“Uhu. Tomorrow.”

“Okay, tomorrow. Want to go to sleep now baby?” he whispered, his lips ghosting over mine and almost driving me crazy with longing for a kiss.

I shook my head, and smiled as he scrunched up his nose in confusion. “I want you to show me if make up sex is really as good as people say it is.” I replied cheekily, causing him to throw back his head with laughter. His eyes turned a darker shade of green when he looked back at me and I shivered at the lust they showed right before his lips finally touched mine.

It didn’t take long before the kiss got heated, lips moving together sloppily and then forced to open to allow our tongues to wrestle in a pointless battle.

“Fuck you and your stupid button up shirts,” Harry muttered as he pulled me along to the bedroom. His fingers fumbling with the tiny buttons.

“I don’t like this shirt much anyway,” I replied and replaced his hands with mine, tearing the fabric open and causing buttons to fly everywhere around us. He pushed the shirt off my shoulders and allowed me to pull of his T-shirt. We didn’t bother taking the discarded clothes with us and just threw them on the floor wherever we were standing at the time. I’d lost my pants halfway up the stairs, and his were left in front of the bathroom door. I stepped on my toes to get rid of my socks as I felt like an idiot wearing socks and boxers, my hands roaming all over Harry’s warm skin. He turned us around and pushed me down on the bed first, not wasting any time to crawl over me. He carefully lowered his body so he was resting on top of mine, making his erection straining against the black cotton of his boxers painfully obvious against my own. His kisses moved from my lips to my neck, his breath hot against my ear as he nibbled on my earlobe. He kept whispering but I couldn’t understand what he was saying until he stopped kissing and sucking for a couple of seconds. “I’m so sorry, Lou.” I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him up, forcing him to look me in the eyes.

“Stop. Saying. You’re. Sorry.” I told him in between pecks on his lips and I rolled my eyes as he had that confused look on his face again. “I know you’re sorry, and you’re forgiven. Now just make love to me, because I fucking missed you.” His breathtaking smile was back, and I loved it. I don’t think he missed an inch of skin while kissing my body from head to toe, literally, keeping the area beneath my boxers for last. His hands were shaking when he removed them, and I couldn’t help smiling at his cuteness. He kissed along my inner thighs, leaving tiny purple marks as he moved closer to my throbbing hard on, until he finally listened to my pleads and put his tongue where I wanted it the most. I threw my head back in pleasure as he licked around the tip, his tongue hot and thick.

“Oh god, Harry, I missed you so fucking, fucking much!” I breathed out. He just smiled up at me and continued to work his magic, his head bobbing up and down until his nose hit my stomach and his eyes teared up as he swallowed around me. I felt that pleasurable heat rising deep down but I didn’t want to come yet, so I pulled him up and whispered I wanted him close. As soon as his face was level with mine again, I wrapped my arms and legs around him, my hips rolling so he’d feel my ass rubbing against his hard on. “Ungh. Fuck, Lou!” he muttered and I smiled.

“Yes, please.” I winked, but then went serious again. “Make love to me Harry.” I whispered, keeping eye contact as he grabbed the bottle of lube from his drawer and slicked himself up quickly. Luckily he understood I didn’t want to be prepped, I just wanted him inside me, making me feel good and forget all about our fight from before.

I bit my lip hard when he pushed inside, almost regretting not being stretched but it got better soon, the pain subsiding and being replaced with only pleasure. I nodded at him to let him know I was ready, and I was glad Niall wasn’t home, because we were both incredibly loud that night. All seven times.

Finally we were both more than satisfied, and rather sore. I smiled down at him and leaned down to kiss him as he held a firm grip on my hips. There would certainly be small bruises from where he held me, but I didn’t mind. He pulled me up a little and I winced at how sensitive I still was when he slipped out of me. I curled up into his side as soon as my body hit the mattress, my head resting on his chest so I could hear his heartbeat gradually slowing down again. I was almost asleep when he spoke up again, his voice deep and sending shivers down my spine.

“So, how incredible was the make up sex?” he asked cheekily, and I didn’t have to see his face to know he was grinning widely.

“Pretty incredible.” I admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with us fighting more often.”

“Good, cause neither am I. I love you Lou.”

“I love you too.”

“And I’m so…”

“Harry…” I groaned. “Stop saying you’re sorry.”

“Sorry.”


	21. Chapter Twenty

A few weeks later, after long and stressful days of studying for exams, I was finally done my finals and had school off until next September, when I would begin my third year of uni. Until then, I'd find a job to help Louis and Niall pay the bills and so that the days spent alone while Louis worked didn't seem so long and boring.

Louis had a week off work now, though, so the job searching would have to wait. We were currently packing the car with our luggage for our road trip down to Doncaster. It wasn't a long drive, but we planned to stay at Louis' dads for a little while and maybe pay a visit to my parents before heading home next weekend. Louis closed the trunk, rubbing a hand down his exhausted face with a sigh.

"It's too fucking early for this," he groaned, holding himself up against the trunk. I smirked at his appearance; his hair was still wet from our early shower together, his eyes had bags under them from our late night and his body looked limp - like he could hardly stand up. Perhaps this had to do with the generous amount of sex we'd had since Iast night, including a quick shag during that shower this morning.

"It's ten o'clock Lou," I chuckled. To anybody else this would be a suitable time to begin their day.

"On a Saturday," he spat back and I couldn't hold back my laughter.

"Hey, don't take the piss at me. You're the one who insisted on round four last night." I wasn't arguing with him, merely just stating a fact. His eyes darted up and a small grin spread across his face as he stepped towards the passenger side of the car, peering at me above the roof of it.

"I missed you," he replied sweetly, shrugging as he opened the door of the Audi and buckled in. He had every reason to. Miss me, that is. I had put our relationship aside a little for the last couple of weeks to study. He understood, though. After our little quarrel I tried to talk to him more, ask him how he was and if he said that he missed me or needed me, I wouldn't brush him off again. Even though I was busy with other things, I never wanted him to feel ignored or forgotten again because he meant everything to me and I couldn't let him slip away.

Two minutes later we were leaving the car park of my, well our apartment complex. Of course all of Louis' stuff wasn't here, but he almost always was, and that was good enough. We had discussed just selling his flat until the two of us could just get ourselves a new one together, but the plan never went further than that - a discussion.

"You nervous?" Louis asked after an hour of singing along to the radio and just talking much about nothing. His hand was resting on my thigh, and I had to stop his sly fingers from creeping up to the waistline of my pants and resist the immense urge to pull over a few times. I had to look presentable when I met his father, not like his son and I just had a quickie in the backseat of my car.

"Should I be?" I said, turning to my side to return the small smile he gave me.

"No, I don't think so. My dad knows how much you make me happy, so he'll have to like you. It's like a parental rule. As long as you don't come off as a total chav, you'll be fine. You're the complete opposite of that though so I doubt we have anything to worry about." Louis spoke quickly, his words coming out in a rush. He didn't take a break to breathe, just rambled on as he looked at the road ahead.

"You seem nervous, babe."

Louis turned back to stare at me when I spoke. He bit his lip nervously and he had worry creases on his forehead. I took one hand off of the wheel and placed it over his on my thigh. I squeezed it reassuringly, and turned to see his chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath.

"I am," he confessed.

"Why sweetheart? He's your father." Louis flipped his hand over so that it was palm up and locked our fingers together, gripping tighter than usual. My thumb rubbed the smooth skin of the back of his hand soothingly; my attempt at calming his nerves.

"I haven't brought a boy home before."

Despite his worry, I couldn't help but blush at his words. My lips spread in a wide smile, and I brought our interlocked hands up to my lips, kissing his knuckles. I felt happy and honoured to know that I was the first boy he felt was suitable to introduce to his family; the first man he loved and trusted and cared for enough to bother. "I love you for choosing me," I mumbled, and he actually seemed to relax a little bit next to me.

The rest of the drive was relaxing. We both enjoyed the stress free feeling of finally having time off to just be together, even though the nerves poked at Louis' tummy every few miles and those creases would reappear on his forehead when he thought too hard. When they did, I kissed his fingers or his knuckles, or squeezed his thigh, and once I even pulled over, snogged him for a couple of minutes and told him to relax. It was hard to break apart and keep going, but like I said, I had to get to his father's appropriately.

When we reached the right exit, Louis lead me through his old city, pointing out all his favourite restaurants or bars that he visited often as a teenager, or the park where he broke his arm in primary school, and the Tesco he worked at when he was a in high school. He held my hand the entire time, eagerly trying to get me to take in every inch of the city. He looked so happy to be here, like he really did love growing up in Doncaster. I knew he left for a reason, that being to escape the past that haunted him, but the way his face lit up while he told me all these fascinating stories of his childhood was so cute I wanted to photograph it.

"We're almost there. Just turn right down the next road and it's house number twenty-two."

I did as he told, eventually pullling into the drive of a very posh looking house. It had a black picket fence around the back yard, and was made entirely of bricks. It was tall and had large windows on both stories of the house. There was a lovely garden as well, with flowers of all colors and two big green bushes on either side of the door. It looked very lived in, very alive. Just like Louis.

"It's beautiful," I sighed, parking next to his father's black car in the drive.

"It's ancient. Belonged to my grandmother for fourty years before she passed, then we moved in here when I was just a baby. It's gotten a lot of work done to it. But yeah, it is quite nice isn't it?" he grinned, and I could tell he was beaming at the thought of being home. His nerves seemed to have left him outside of the city limits, excitement of bringing me to such a sacred place taking their place.

"Hey Harry," he mumbled as we sat parked on the drive. I lolled my head to the side, raising an eyebrow as I waited for him to continue. He smiled instantly, and I returned it, then he surprised me by leaning accross the gear shift and pulling me by the back of the neck into a soft, lingering kiss. "For good luck," he mumbled, his nose nuzzled against my cheek before he pecked my lips one more time and shuffled clumsily out of the car.

He was so cute sometimes. Okay, all the time.

I could see the trunk flip up in the back as Louis unpacked our suitcases, and rushed out to help him. What kind of a gentleman would I be if I let my boyfriend do all the heavy lifting? So once he slammed the trunk closed, I collected both of our duffels off the ground and he rewarded me with another kiss before leading the way to the door. I would have politely held his hand, but mine were kind of full.

When we reached the front porch, my foot was tapping anxiously as we waited for somebody to answer Louis' incessant knocking.

"Jesus Christ, Louis. Think they're going to let you in if you're already driving them absolutely bonkers before even stepping inside?" I said with a laugh, shaking my head when he ignored me and continued to tap furiously on the metal.

"Harry, I love you. I really do. But fuck off," he said moments later, looking back for a split second so that I could see in his eyes that he was only kidding. Plus, his laugh sort of gave it away as well. His laughter - and knocking - was interrupted by the clicking of the lock turning, and a dark figure appearing in the window.

"Daaaaad," Louis slurred excitedly when his father opened the door, revealing a tall, intimidating looking man with dark hair and blue eyes like Louis'. Louis jumped into his arms, and his father's deep laugh echoed around us. He wrapped his arms around his tiny son, pulling him close and even leaving a quick kiss on his forehead. It was obvious they were close, and that probably had to do with the fact that Louis grew up without his mother.

"Hey son," his father muttered into his hair before pushing him away gently, keeping him within arms reach and looking him up and down. "You grow up more and more every day."

"Actually, I think I stopped growing after puberty dad," Louis said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well then you're just getting older now. Is that a grey hair?" his dad said in fake shock, leaning in to grab a strand of Louis' brown hair. He chuckled, and shouted at the older man that he was not one to speak with the wrinkles beginning to develop all over his skin. I chuckled behind them, fascinated by their close relationship. In fact, I was so caught up in watching them interact with each other that I was startled when his father's blue eyes finally looked up to meet mine.

"You must be Harry," he said matter-of-factly, a small smile on his face. It was strange having him finally speak to me in real life rather than via skype. We rarely saw each other, even through the webcam, but occasionally Louis would carry his laptop over to where I was sitting on the couch or lying on my bed and snuggle with me while he chatted with his father. We kept the affection to a minimum though; usually just our hands interlocked in our laps or our legs intertwined at the foot of the bed.

"That's right sir." I had a genuine smile on my face as I spoke, and I think Louis was to thank for that as he puckered his lips when he turned around, pretending to blow me a kiss. It was his adorable attempt of trying to calm down any nerves I may have, although I was feeling pretty good at the moment. "I would shake your hand like a proper man, but..." I added with a chuckle, lifting the bags I was carrying a little to show that I had my hands full.

"Oh right, sorry Harry. Come right inside. Louis, show him to the guest room," his dad said, waving me inside and closing the heavy door behind us.

Louis' face dropped at the mention of a guest room, and he immediately shot me an "are you kidding me" type of look. I just smirked in reply, unwilling to argue with his father.

"Dad," Louis' voice grumbled slowly. "I was thinking Harry and I would share my bedroom."

His face contorted into a heartbreaking pout, his lip jutting out a little and his eyes wide open, sparkling their perfect shade of bright blue.

"Lou..."

"Please daddy," Louis said in a sweet baby voice, and I knew this must be how Louis had gotten his way multiple times as a kid. His dad groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. It was almost like he was ashamed of himself for falling for Louis' little game.

"Fine," he spat out, waving us off as he walked past the stairs to what appeared to be the kitchen, shouting a warning on the way there. "Behave, though."

He smiled and shot a quick thank you over his shoulder before leading me up the narrow stairway. At the top of the stairs was a big hallway, leading to four different doorways which I assumed were all the bedrooms. Louis guided me to the last door on the right, and I followed, my arms getting restless from the heavy bags. Louis sure knew how to over pack.

He led me inside, and I wasn't surprised at all by my surroundings. The room just screamed Louis. It had a desk in the corner, covered in scrap paper and pens. There was a book shelf against the other wall, overflowing with a disastrous amount of books. His duvet was simple - just a navy blue. There were posters of a few of his favorite bands on the walls; The Killers, The Fray and The Beatles.

"The bed's kind of small," I commented, pointing to the twin sized bed once I dropped our luggage on the floor.

"I didn't think that would be a problem," Louis chuckled, gliding towards me with a sheepish grin.

"Never said it was," I whispered, reaching out to pull him by the waist, closing the distance between us and pressing my lips to his.That was one thing I loved about Louis. His lips. And how I couldn't, and never would, get tired of them. We kissed slowly for a few long seconds before he pulled away, his hands resting on my chest. I leaned down to kiss his nose one last time and he giggled, pushing me towards the door.

"Let's go find Lottie. She must be around here somewhere. I'm surprised she hasn't come out yet," he murmured, reaching for my hand as I stepped into the hallway. He pulled me to the door on the opposite side of the hallway and knocked friskily a couple of times, keeping hold of me. "Lottie!" he shouted, "I expected a nice hello from you ten minutes ago."

Through the door, we could hear a muffled voice whisper a goodbye to someone and it dawned to us both that she was on the phone. There was a quiet beep and then footsteps before the door was pulled open and a squealing girl jumped into Louis' arms. "I missed you," she sighed, closing her eyes and squeezing him tightly.

"I missed you too. So much," Louis whispered, rubbing her back. When they broke apart, she eyed me up and down, an eyebrow shooting up as she did so.

"This is Harry?" she gawked.

"Of course," Louis groaned.

"How did you manage to snag that? He's even more gorgeous in real life," she snickered. Louis moved his hand to wrap it around my waist, leaning into my side as he grinned at his younger sister.

"I honestly have no idea," Louis sneered, shaking his head and pressing a quick kiss to my cheek that had his sister cooing at the site of us. My fingers were under his tee shirt, rubbing circles into his waist as he clung to my side. It wasn't a sexual manner, I just really liked how soft and warm Louis' skin was.

"More like how did I manage to snag this," I growled, and Louis giggled when I pulled him closer before shoving me away with a light slap on my shoulder.

"You're both really cute together. It's nice to meet you, Harry," she smiled, and my cheeks burned at her compliment towards the two of us. I mumbled a quick greeting back and even awkwardly shook her hand. She was about to go back inside her room to finish up something on the computer when a thought occurred to Louis and he rushed to ask her about it.

"Who was that on the phone?" he probed, a hand on her door.

"Nobody," she mumbled, a sly smile growing on her face.

"Was it a boy?"

"No," she chuckled.

"Liar," he hissed, and she jumped a little bit as he leaned towards her. His overprotective brother façade vanished when they both burst into laughter and he scuffed her hair up and bent down to her eye level, pointing an intimidating finger at her. "If it's a boy, you better tell them I'll beat the shit out of them if they lay a finger on you."

"Count me to it," she cackled, closing the door on us.

"She seems lovely," I whispered, pressing a kiss to Louis' temple. He nodded and guided me back to the bedroom where we unpacked some of our things. I listened to more stories about his childhood while we did, and they were all so fascinating. He avoided any of the horrible memories, but I was kind of glad he did. It was nice to hear all of the positive things about his past.

"And then this one time-"

"Boys, dinner is ready!" his father's voice interrupted Louis' story. We were finished packing now, but we were both sitting on opposite ends of his bedroom floor as he told me plenty of tales, an ear to ear smile spread across his face. I was leaning against his wooden dresser, my back beginning to ache, so I was relieved to get up and stretch.

The dinner table was set, four table mats and a plate of pasta on each. There were even wine glasses in front of three of the open seats; obviously not for Lottie. "Whoa dad. You went all out on dinner tonight. What's the occasion?" Louis beamed, taking the seat nearest the window.

"Thought you and Harry would appreciate it," his dad said in reply, getting a cork screw for the bottle of red wine he pulled out of the pantry.

"We do. Thank you sir," I replied, taking the seat across from Louis. I felt his feet kick my legs under the table, and he shot me a captivating smile, crinkles forming by his eyes.

"Please, call me David," his father exclaimed from the kitchen.

I sensed Louis' feet moving between mine again beneath the table, intertwining our legs and locking his ankles around mine. "I love you," he mouthed as we waited for the others to join us. I flushed, looking down at my hands on the table. It was crazy how he could make me feel like a shy school girl on occasion.

"So boys, how long do you plan on staying?" David asked as he brought the opened bottle to the table, sitting next to Louis. Lottie came slumping down the stairs a few seconds later, greeting us all with a small before sitting next to me.

"A few days. We're supposed to drive down to Cheshire to meet Harry's family before my vacation ends," Louis answered, taking a bite of his pasta. His father passed him the wine, and he generously poured us each a glass. I was more of a fan of beer, but Louis knew I didn't mind a fancy drink on special occasions, and I suppose this could qualify as one.

"So Louis, do you live with Harry now?" David asked after a few minutes. We were all enjoying the pasta, and I even made sure to compliment him on his cooking to earn some bonus points.

"Sort of," Louis responded. "I stay there almost all the time but I still have my own flat. He has a room mate called Niall."

"Yeah, we keep the extra flat in case we ever want to be alone. Niall doesn't like too much noise." Louis shot me a glare at my words, and I froze mid bite to think about what I had said wrong. I mean what could have possibly deserved that? Unless, oh shit, that sounded extremely sexual. "I didn't mean it like-"

"It's alright," his dad chuckled, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "I believe Louis has the correct state of mind to wait until marriage to do anything of that sort."

Louis choked, coughing and sputtering a few times as he tried to regain his composure. I tried to keep a straight face, but felt his foot kick a little between mine in panic. Lottie bursted into laughter at the sight of the two of us, both red faced and silent, and I believed it was almost obvious that Louis in fact did not have that state of mind.

"What would ever make you think that?" Louis sputtered, taking a sip of his wine to clear his throat.

"I'd rather believe that than otherwise. Any parent would agree with me there," his father chuckled, and the rest of us at the table all joined in. It should be awkward to know that our sex life had just vaguely been discussed at the table, but somehow it wasn't. This family was so close to each other that it didn't even seem like a big deal.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing Louis' job and my year at uni. His dad was like a game of Trivia Pursuit - he never seemed to run out of questions. I was glad to know he cared, though. He seemed like a genuine man that wanted nothing but for Louis to be happy, and he seemed satisfied enough with my answers. Louis did too. He kept sneaking cheeky glances to me between bites, and even made a deal of slowly licking icing off of his fork when his dad brought us each a slice of cake, never breaking eye contact with me as he did so.

After dinner, Louis and I offered to clear the table and clean up the kitchen a little bit. We were silent as we did so, and it took all my energy not to jump Louis right there. He had teased me enough during dinner, I just wanted him alone now.

To my luck, the family decided to have a movie night together, so I was forced to sit through two comedies in a small living room, all alone on a chair as Louis snuggled next to his little sister. I shouldn't say I was jealous of her, but I was. His dad fell asleep on his recliner sometime during the second movie, and Lottie's head was resting on Louis' shoulder by the time the second movie ended.

"Time for bed, little one," Louis announced to Lottie when he flicked the television off with the remote. He shouted his dad's name, and when he got no response he threw a pillow at his chest. "Dad, wake up. It's late, you should probably head upstairs."

His dad groaned and sat up, stretching and running his hands down his face before checking the time on his cell phone and slumping towards the stairs.

"You wanna head to bed too, love?" I asked Louis, and he flushed at the pet name.

"Yeah, 'm kinda tired," he admitted, reaching a hand out to pull me out of my seat. He pecked my lips when I was standing before him and led me up the stairs after his family.

Ten minutes later, the lights were all out and I was crawling next to my boy in his tiny little bed, both of us wearing a pair of jogger's and one of my band tee shirts - because no matter how much Louis overpacked, he still deemed it necessary to wear my clothing. Louis drew me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist. It was small and slightly uncomfortable, but being near him like this was nice.

"Your family is so great," I mumbled, kissing his forehead, then his nose, then finally his lips. He smiled against them, his eyes closed as he sighed heavily. "They're so funny, and crazy just like you."

"I think they really like you too, Curly," he whispered. "Almost as much as I do."

"I doubt that," I growled, rolling us over so that I was hovering above Louis. He looked up at me, beaming, and his hands rubbed my sides, his fingers slipping under my tee shirt. My elbows were on either side of his head, propping myself up as I forced my lips upon his. His fingers trailed up my shirt, slowly slipping it over my head. "They wouldn't want to fuck me," I joked, looking down into his bright blue eyes, full of love and lust.

"I'm not quite sure I could agree with that. Lottie seemed pretty interested," Louis murmured with a grin, chuckling when my eyes widened in what was a mix of shock and disgust.

"Just kiss me," I whispered with a roll of my eyes, pulling Louis' lips back up to mine.

The sex was slow and sweet. We took our time glorifying every inch of each other's bodies, just exchanging our love and adoration through gentle strokes and thrusts and occasional murmurs of "I love you" being whispered into each other's ears. We made sure to be quiet, well aware that they'd be even less willing than Niall to hear our moans. Through it all, I couldn't stop thinking of how hot it was to be fucking my boyfriend in his childhood bed. There was something strangely exciting about it.

\---

I woke up the following morning with Louis completely sprawled on top of me, his lower body between my legs and his head and torso resting atop my chest. My limbs were going numb from his weight on top of mine, but he was absolutely adorable. I squeezed my legs in attempt to wake him, shaking a little bit. "Lou, wake up love," I whispered, my hands rubbing up and down his bare back. He moaned, his back shivering, and lifted his head up slowly to look up at me. He blinked to get out of his daze, smiling when he caught me staring.

"Morning," he whispered, his voice raspy from sleep. Only he could turn me on at eleven o'clock in the morning without even trying.

"Morning baby. Sleep well?" I asked, and Louis crawled off of me and over to my side, nuzzling under my arm.

"Yeah, you were comfortable," he giggled, turning a little so that his lips could reach mine. Instead of letting him pull away, my hands cupped his cheeks and held him close, our lips moving together slowly. The morning-after a night of sex with Louis was always nice. He was always happy and cuddly, and sometimes up for round two before jumping in the shower.

I rolled us over so that Louis was on his back and I was half on top of him, one of my hands cupping his jaw and the other sliding down his torso. The sheets were pulled up to his belly button, but I slipped a hand underneath to grip his lower waist, my thumb rubbing circles into it. "I love you," I mumbled against his lips, and he proceeded to kiss me lazily, our tongues gliding together leisurely.

Unexpectedly, the door swung open midst make out session and Louis pushed me away at the sound, both of us turning to see his dad standing there.

"Oh shit," he swore, looking up at the ceiling. There was no doubt he noticed our naked bodies, half covered by the sheets, snogging on the bed he told us to behave him. Plus, he probably caught sight of the clothes scattered all over the floor. "Breakfast is ready," he added, avoiding looking at us again.

"We'll be down in a minute," Louis responded, his voice slightly panicked. He pulled the sheets up, making sure they covered more of our bare skin before his dad nodded and closed the door behind him,

Breakfast was only a little awkward, and I knew by the way Lottie was looking at the three of us that she had a vague idea of what was going on. We scarfed down our pancakes and sausages, avoiding any conversation until Louis cracked a joke about the weather. After that, things seemed to be more lighthearted again. His father's reaction was expected by any parent, though. It's not every day that you walk in on your son half naked in a bed with another man. Oh well. It was to be expected.

Later that afternoon, Louis and his dad went to the market to pick up a few groceries. Lottie suggested staying home with me, and I was curious as to what she had planned. As soon as the boys were out the door, she was watching me intently, arms crossed over her chest.

"Take a seat, Harry."

I did as she told, pulling out the nearest chair at the kitchen table. She moved to sit across from me, her face stern and a large difference from her usual happy nature. She clucked her tongue as she thought of what to say, and I leaned forward on the table a bit as I waited.

"Dad told me what happened this morning," she said, and her serious expression dropped as she giggled at the thought. "God, he was so surprised."

"Look, I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle him. If we had known someone was awake we wouldn't have-"

"No, it's alright. I think it's quite hilarious, actually. Dad has just never seen either of us in a serious relationship before, so this is still quite new to him. You've just got to bear with him for that. He's adjusting to it. He's really protective of Louis, you know. Always has been. Especially since my mum left. He knew how much it affected both of us, but especially Louis." Lottie wasn't announcing anything new. It was already quite obvious how much his dad assured Louis was being taken care of. With the incessant questions and also just the way he treated his son. It was obvious how much he cared about Louis.

"I know," I replied with a nod.

"It's not just dad, though," she continued, leaning towards me a little, her composure returning to one of strictly business. "I worry about him too."

"I understand that. He is your brother, after all."

"Exactly. I've seen him in the worst of times. I've seen him lock himself up alone, push everybody away and keep a safe distance to protect his feelings. I've seen him lose faith in everyone and lose everyone except for my father and me. We were the only ones who were there for him through everything. He's gotten better over time, though. And now he's happier than ever, and I think you're the one to thank for that. So thank you," she mumbled, grimacing. I blushed, nodding slowly in response.

"But now it's your job to keep him safe. You're the one that has his heart now and it's your turn to protect it. If you break his heart, I swear you will regret it. I don't care how incredibly adorable you and my brother are together, I will do anything in my power to hurt you if you hurt him. I don't care how attractive and charming you are, if you break my brother's heart I will break you," she snarled, her knuckles turning white as her fist balled on the table.

I had to admit, I was kind of afraid. This small, innocent girl was threatening me and I was scared as hell.

"I don't plan on it. I love Louis a lot. More than anything in the entire world. Leaving him would only hurt me as well," I mumbled, pushing my fringe out of my eyes as I looked up again to see her smiling. Slowly, she got up and marched over to my side of the table. She caught me by surprise when she pulled me out of my seat, jumping into my arms and hugging me tightly.

"Good," she whispered when I squeezed her back. The hug was quick, but it was almost like Louis' sister was accepting me into their lives, and into her life. It was nice to be accepted.

She pushed me away, a huge grin plastered on her face, and poked me on the chest. "Mark my word, Styles," she threatened one last time, chuckling before rushing up to her room.

\---

"Goodbye dad," Louis mumbled two days later, clinging to his dad as I carried the luggage down the stairs. I noticed he was sniffling, probably upset to be leaving so soon. Lottie was standing next to the doorway, waiting for her turn, and we exchanged a quick smile before Louis pulled her into his arms. The past couple of days had been great. I had grown quite close to Lottie after our little discussion, even though she seemed to be constantly watching us like a hawk. I even seemed to have developed a nice bond with Louis' father.

I dropped the luggage next to the door and accepted David's extended hand, shaking it kindly. "Thank you for everything," I said, smiling up at the older man.

"I could say the same to you," he said, nodding his head back in Louis' direction. It wasn't said entirely in words, but I knew this was his way of thanking me for the smile Louis now wore every day, the one that seemed to have gone missing for ages. I didn't need to be thanked for that smile though, because seeing it on his face was as rewarding for me as it was for my boyfriend himself.

Next up was Lottie, hugging me tightly without a word. She planted a kiss on my cheek and wished me a safe trip home. "Take care of him," she warned one last time, patting my cheek and turning away when I agreed to her words.

"Lottie," Louis said, the young girl turning around to smile at her brother. "Don't forget to tell those boys your big brother will hunt them down if they ever break you heart."

"I think she's perfectly capable of that herself," I snickered, referring to the way she had threatened me earlier this week. Lottie giggled and Louis raised an eyebrow. I'd have to explain everything to him later. For now, it was our own little private joke.

With a few more goodbye's we were out the door and loading the car up with our overstuffed bags. Louis had a tear rolling down his cheek, and I felt bad for taking him away from his family so soon but we had other plans. "We'll visit again soon, love. I promise," I whispered, cupping his cheek and wiping the tears with my thumb. I kissed him delicately before heading to the front seat, Louis accompanying my on the other side.

We drove in silence again, and I clutched Louis' hand on my lap, occasionally kissing the knuckles. Once we were out of the city, his sadness seemed to vanish just like the memories surrounding him, which was good. Eventually we were both goofing around, singing along to Olly Murs' new song on the radio. He was crazy and such a fool and I loved that about him.

"Isn't Cheshire that way?" Louis asked when I drove past the exit, pointing to the sign. "Babe, turn around!"

"Louis we're not going to Cheshire," I said, squeezing his hand so that he'd relax. His eyes shot towards me and they expressed nothing but misunderstanding.

"Isn't that where your family lives?" he slurred. His face was contorted into confusion and he ran a hand down his face as if he was struggling to understand what was going on. "Didn't we leave my dad's to go meet your family? Wasn't that the purpose of leaving? If I wanted to go home I would have said something-"

"Louis, I'm taking you to France."


	22. Chapter Twenty one

It was silent in the car for the next minute or so, in fact, that silent that I actually started to worry. When I looked back at him, after assuring myself it was safe to take my eyes off the road for a few seconds, he was staring at me, his mouth agape and his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as he blinked confusedly.

“F-France?” he finally stuttered.

“Yes, you know, big country overseas, where they have loads of wine and cheese?”

That seemed enough to snap him out of his daze and I had to dodge a slap on my arm before he spoke up again. “I know where and what France is Harry, but why the hell are we going there? Are your parents on holiday over there or something?”

“No. But…”

“Then why on earth are you kidnapping me to France if the plan was to meet your family?” he demanded, squinting his eyes a little to glare at me as if I was the primary suspect in a murder investigation.

“Because I thought we deserved a little holiday to ourselves. My parents and Gemma are visiting us in London in a couple of weeks, but for the next few days, it’s just us, in a nice hotel and nothing to do,” I replied, my grin growing as his disbelief became visible on his face.

“But Harry!” he exclaimed, obviously fighting back his own smile. “That must’ve cost you fortunes! I should at least pay half of it!”

“Nope! It’s my treat. I saved up a bit from my allowance and the money I still had left from my summer job last year, and I really, really wanted to spend it on this, so stop arguing and enjoy, alright?”

“Uh, yeah, okay.” He fell back in his seat and still seemed a bit baffled, but at least he was smiling now. That tiny, almost secretive smile of his that could totally drive me crazy, even more because he knew that. We both kept quiet for a while then, just listening to the radio until we reached the exit to London Heathrow.“Where in France are we going?” he had turned in his seat a bit so he could face me properly.

“You’ll see.” I smirked, happy with how curious he already was.

“Oooooh, is it Paris?” he asked, his eyes wide and a little twinkle visible in them.

“Maybe…” I trailed off, but I knew he wouldn’t give off until he knew exactly where we were going. Lucky me, we had arrived at the airport by then, and I had to focus all my attention on finding a parking space that wouldn’t cost us fortunes to leave our car for the next few days. It was almost noon, so it was to be expected that most of the cheaper spaces were already taken, but I managed to squeeze his Audi in between two posh BMW’s, after I’d let Louis out of the car before driving in. By the time I’d gotten out of the car, careful not to bump my door against the other car and bending in the most awkward angles, Louis had already grabbed our bags. He handed me mine so we both had one of our hands free to hold each other’s. He had a small bounce in his step and I couldn’t keep back the grin tugging on my lips.

Thanks to the time of day, the lines at check in were rather short, and I miraculously succeeded in keeping our final destination away from him all through the process of checking in our bags, getting our boarding passes and even filing through security. Louis was too impatient to put his shoes back on properly, so he ended up hopping behind me on one leg because his right shoe was falling off due to untied laces for a couple of yards. I nodded towards a small café, knowing we had plenty of time before our flight left and he grinned happily. Hopefully a good cup of tea would manage to calm him down.

My plan seemed to succeed, he kept silent for the first few minutes we sat down at one of the tiny round tables. His fingers were holding on to the rubbish plastic thing they had the nerve of calling a spoon, twirling around in his cardboard cup.

“It’s not Paris, is it?” he finally asked, taking me by surprise.

I chuckled and shook my head. “You’ll probably know when we head to the gate Lou, but for now, I’m keeping it a surprise.”

“There’s no flight to Paris within the next two hours, I’ve seen it in the departure hall.” He stated, a proud look on his face and his lips pouted slightly. Again, I chuckled and shook my head, but I decided not to reply and just took his hand in mine, squeezing it a little.“Come oooooon!” he whined, obviously annoyed that his tactics were failing him.

“Nuh-uh.” I shook my head firmly, and just smiled as his face scrunched up in different expressions, from an angry glare to a disappointed puppy-pout. “Give up already Lou, I’m not going to tell you yet.”

“Ughhhhhh. That puppy-face pout works on EVERYONE! Stupid you!” he huffed out in frustration and suddenly it was easy to imagine little toddler Louis having a rant in the supermarket, stomping his feet and swinging his arms. It didn’t take long before he calmed down though, a smile visible on his lips again and his fingers intertwining with mine. “It was nice introducing you to my family this week.”He suddenly spoke, changing the subject, for which I was rather grateful.

“I already told you that I really liked it too. They’re lovely. And awfully fond of you for some strange reason.” I teased.

He stuck his tongue out at me. “Yeah, I don’t get it either. But uhm, what was that little joke between you and Lottie about earlier?”

I rolled my eyes at him, his curiosity still as terrible as ever. I knew I’d have to tell him sooner or later anyway, and at least this would keep his mind off trying to find out where we were headed. “She and I had a little chat when you and your dad went to the market the other day.” I replied as casually as I possibly could.

Louis groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Oh god… what kind of awfully embarrassing stories did she tell you?”

I let out a small laugh at that. “She knows embarrassing stories about you that you haven’t told me yet? God, I wish I’d known that before!”

He sent another glare at me before he questioned again what that chat had been about, his eyes growing in a mixture of disbelief and shame as he heard my reply. “I’m so going to kill her next time I see her.” He groaned when I finished explaining how she’d threatened to hurt me whenever I hurt Louis.

“Don’t, love. She’s really sweet and she’s only trying to look out for you. Exactly the same as what you’re doing for her.” I answered, rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand.

“I know, I know.” He groaned, throwing his head back to finish his cup of tea. “And that seriously was the worst cup of tea I’ve ever had.”

I chuckled and pulled him up with me. “Come on, it’s time to go find our gate.”

Fifteen minutes later, I had an overly excited Louis on an uncomfortable plastic seat next to me. Ever since the screen saver on the screen next to our gate had changed into the flight information, he hadn’t been able to sit still, or to stop squealing. “Oh my god, Harry, I can’t believe you’re taking me to Nice! I mean, that’s so posh! It’s the freaking côte d’Azur! You have no idea how happy this makes me!”

“I think I do have an idea, though…” I replied, but was cut off by Louis jumping in my lap and smothering me with kisses, mumbled I love you’s in between. We were attracting a few odd looks from people around us, but most of them were actually smiling at us, obviously finding Louis as cute as I did. When we were finally allowed to board the plane, he slumped down in his seat, put his seat belt on and fell asleep even before we had taken off. I took advantage of his silence to sleep a little myself, knowing that his enthusiasm wouldn’t lay off once we’d arrived, and he’d probably express it in every possible way.

I had been right. Louis’ eyes had grown wide when he saw our hotel and even wider when we’d checked in and took the elevator to our room on the top floor. The large window took up an entire wall, and despite the fact that our hotel wasn’t right by the sea, the building was large enough to provide us with a nice view of the beach and the sea, making us both gasp as soon as we entered the room.

“I am so going to fuck you against that window.” Louis breathed out and I had to blink a couple of times before it thoroughly registered.

“Uh. Okay.”

“Not now though. Right now I want to go outside and have an obscene amount of ice cream!” he smiled as he twirled around, his eyes glistening with mischief.

“Alright, just let me change into something lighter than this though, it’s freakishly hot outside.” I replied and kissed him quickly before throwing my suitcase on the king sized bed and grabbing a pair of shorts and a thin white V-neck shirt. Louis was trying to figure out what clothes he had packed could do for the blazing hot weather down here, and thanks to his wonderful ability to overpack and therefore take half his wardrobe with him, he came up with something rather nice. He’d rolled the pipes of his dark blue capri’s up until they came just under his knees and pulled on one of his many coloured tee shirts before he bounced over to my side of the bed, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I turned around and pulled him closer, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine in the chill of our air conditioned room.

“I love this holiday already. Thanks Haz.” He mumbled, looking up at me with those perfect bright blue eyes of his, making it impossible not to kiss him. The kiss was sweet and slow, neither of us making the effort of deepening the kiss or turning it into anything more. We both knew that there would be more later that night, but right now, the kiss was languid and soft, only used to express how much we cared for each other.

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go, I’ll even let you buy me ice cream!” I winked and grabbed his hand to pull him outside and downstairs into the heat of the city.

Hours later, we were strolling side by side, hand in hand, down the boulevard next to the sea. We were far from the only tourists around, but the larger part had already gone back to their hotels. There were only a few couples strolling around, the odd jogger or roller skater passing us by while we walked and talked. After our indeed obscenely large amount of ice cream, we’d walked around the ancient city for a while, until we were both hungry enough to go for dinner. By now it was dark, most shops had closed their doors hours ago and it was now time for café and restaurant owners to do the same. We had walked by the sea all evening, just enjoying each other’s company. I let out a loud yawn, not caring enough to cover my mouth with my hand, causing Louis to scold at me.

“Come on, Styles, I’m taking you to bed, it’s been a long day!” he joked and winked at me, pulling me in the complete opposite direction of our hotel.

“Lou, it’s actually over there.” I interrupted and pointed at the large building that was clearly visible from where we were.

“Oh, right. I knew that!” he exclaimed and changed direction.

I chuckled but followed nonetheless, eager to take those clothes off of him and keep him to his promise to fuck me against the giant window in our room.

\---

I woke up halfway through the next morning, the sun was already high in the sky and a shrill shriek from what I supposed was a cleaning lady who obviously didn’t appreciate the sight of us naked in the bed woke me up. I turned around and smiled at the sight of Louis spread out over three quarters of the bed, his hair a complete mess of after-sexness and his legs open wide. Suddenly I understood why the cleaning lady had hurried straight back out of our room. We should really remember to put up a do not disturb sign before going to bed. To me, he was utterly gorgeous though, and I couldn’t help the smile creeping up my face at the memory of last night. He had kept his promise, and made sure to fulfill it very thoroughly, and of course I had insisted on returning the favour. He had looked even prettier than usual, pressed up against the window with his head thrown back in extasy, the lights of the lighthouse and the ships at sea in the background and not holding back on appreciative moans and gasps. I leaned over and pressed a kiss on his neck, right beneath his ear before I whispered goodmorning. He groaned, giving away that he was in fact awake for a while but was just too lazy to wake up properly.

“I think we might have missed breakfast love, but we could always order some roomservice. I don’t think the cleaning lady will come back any time soon after she’s seen you like this.” I chuckled and I saw a smile tugging on his lips before he turned and rewarded me with a kiss.

“Maybe we should just put up the do not disturb sign and don’t bother to take it down.” He mused, and cringed as he cast a glance at the window. “To be honest, I don’t think I want to be here when she finds out what a mess we made on the window.”

I looked behind me to follow his gaze and had to admit he was right. There were greasy stains in the shape of our bodies all over it, and together with the messy sheets and the tube of lube on the nightstand, it wouldn’t be hard to put two and two together. Perhaps it would be a better idea to keep any cleaning ladies out of our room for the extent of our stay here. For the sake of the waiter bringing up our food, I’d at least put on some pants and thrown a blanket over Louis’lower body.

“That was possibly the best pastry I’ve ever had.” Louis stated with a satisfied sigh.

“It was delicious. So, what do you want to do today babe?” I replied, rolling over and wrapping my arm around his waist.

“I want to go swimming. And then I want to have lunch, and then have some more sex with you, and then… not sure, you can pick what we do when we’ve done all that.” He answered with a mischievous grin. I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him out of bed, slapping his ass as he scrambled to the floor.

“First shower, it’s not very nice to pollute the swimming pool with the remnants of last night’s sex, don’t you think?” he snickered and pulled me up with him, obviously not planning on showering on his own.

It didn’t turn out the way I had expected though, judging from the look in his eyes he would jump me as soon as the water was on, but instead he pulled me inside with him and wrapped his arms around my waist, looking up at me from under his eyelashes before he smiled and kissed away the water drops that were falling on my chest. After we’d cuddled and kissed like that for a while, he reached behind me and came up with the small bottle of shower gel that the hotel had left for us. He put some in his hands and started soaping me up, slowly and thoroughly. His hands were soft and gentle on my skin as they trailed from my chest down to my stomach, turning me around next so he could massage the soap into my neck and back. He kneeled down to spread the soap over my legs and then my bum, leaving my crotch for last. I couldn’t deny it turned me on to feel his hands all over me, and I was half-hard by the time he was finished, but he didn’t do anything about it. He just pressed a tiny kiss on the tip before he stood up again and traded the shower gel for shampoo. Once he had made sure all soap was rinsed off, I wanted to return the favour, but he didn’t allow me to. Instead he sent me out of the shower and the bathroom, asking me to find him something to wear at the pool. He’d packed almost everything but his swimming trunks, unfortunately, and since I hadn’t been able to find his before we left, I only had my own in my bag. Half an hour later we ended up going to a small shopping centre around the corner to buy him swimming trunks, especially because he had already cut off one of his jeans to turn them into shorts. He was willing to sacrifice one pair of pants, but two was a little too much.

There weren't many people at the pool, it was quite hot already, and I suspected most people either stayed inside or were already out into town. Louis claimed one of the sunbeds as his and stretched his body out on its surface. His movements were lazy and languid, and I almost expected him to purr as he laid down on his stomach, a content smile on his lips.

“Do you mind putting sunscreen on my back love?” he asked sweetly, and how could I possibly deny him that? I pushed his body to the side a little and covered my hands in white liquid before I rubbed them all over his back. He let out an appreciative moan and turned on his back once I had finished his legs as well. I rolled my eyes at him but obliged anyway, covering his chest and arms, and lastly his face. I made sure to rub it in extra well on his face, squeezing his cheeks in the process. He took revenge by biting on my finger, but changed his mind soon enough when he wanted to suck on it and tasted the sunscreen. He scrunched up his face in disgust and tried getting rid of the foul taste in his mouth by taking a few sips of his lemonade. Once he was finally done with being a drama queen, I asked him to cover my back as well while I rubbed the sunscreen all over my chest, arms and legs and ran towards the appealing pool as fast as my legs would carry me. Louis eyed me warily, not sure if he wanted to give up the warmth of the sun to swim.

“Come on Lou! The water is wonderful!” I yelled at him, shaking my hair out of my eyes.

“But the sun is too!”he whined, stretching to stress his point some more. I shook my head and turned around, he’d come into the water soon enough.

\---

The next three days consisted mostly of the same thing, the pool, love making, going out into the city, more love making, delicious food and loads of sun and fun. We were both gutted about having to go back home, but there wasn’t really much we could do to avoid it. Louis had to go back to work the next day, and I was slowly but surely going broke, so I had to replenish my savings by finding a summer job of my own.

This time, Louis wasn’t as hyped when we were at the airport, he was a bit tired from the early morning, but he looked good. Better than ever even. The sun had given him a glorious golden tan, making his teeth shine almost unnaturally, and his brown hair had bleached a bit into something between blond and brown. Most of all, he looked happy, and as happy as he had been these past few months, I still wasn’t used to it. I fed off every second he smiled, even more when I knew I was the reason of that smile, and I was lucky enough to be the reason pretty often.

“Thank you for taking me here Curly, I absolutely loved it.” He sighed as we sank down in the plastic seats at our gate. We were early, so we’d have about half an hour to kill before boarding started.

“Me too. And stop thanking me for it, it was a treat for me as well.” I smiled, nuzzling my nose into his messed up hair as he leaned into my chest. He sat up, and the mischievous look in his eyes could only mean he was up for trouble.

“I have a plan to kill time,” was all he said before he stood up and grabbed my arm, taking me into the bathroom with him. “It just was so hot last time we had sex in a public bathroom Harry…” he breathed into my ear, and that was all it took for me to be convinced of his plan.

This public bathroom was a little busier than the one at his work party though, so I had to try and keep silent when his hands unbuttoned my shorts and his fingers started working my semi hard on with his usual skill. 5 minutes later, his own pants were discarded on the floor as he clung onto my shoulders, his feet hooked together on my back as I drove him into the thin wall of the stall we were in. I forced myself not to think too much about the position we were in, as it would be a definite moodkiller. My pants were dropped around my ankles and his T-shirt was pushed up above his nipples, my fingers twisting them while I fucked him hard and fast.

It didn’t take us long to come undone, the excitement of being in a public place only adding to the arousal, and we both knew each other’s body well enough by now to know how to get each other off in 15 minutes.

Maybe we should write a book about that… or maybe not. Perhaps it was for the best that my summer job would probably be in a supermarket or a fast food restaurant, being a writer most definitely wasn’t a good career option for me.

We were both flushed and looking dishevelled when we emerged out of the stall, not caring enough to be careful and come out separately. Louis smirked and winked at me in the mirror before he went to wash his hands, as if we didn’t just have sex in one of the stalls.

It did kill time though, and he had his ways to make the flight more interesting as well, a blanket and a backpack proving to be sufficient cover for hands moving in pants. The hardest part was the stewardess coming by to ask if we wanted anything to drink while Louis was so, so, so close to his climax. I don’t think he ever had that much trouble pronouncing tomato juice before.

\---

“Honey, I’m home!”Louis shouted as soon as the front door fell shut behind him. Niall grinned as he got off the couch and ran towards the living room door, ready to engulf Louis in a hug and a pretend-snog. I loved how the three of us, four if Jill was around, could just banter without any harm ever being done.

Once they had finished their love fest, Louis skipped over the the armchair I was in and pulled me in for a long, sweet yet sloppy kiss.

“How was work?”

“Alright, glad a lot of them nitwits are on holiday so at least it’s quiet and I can work hard. How did your job hunting go.”

“I’ve got a job for the next 8 weeks. 24 hours a week. Cashier at Tesco’s.”

The big grin growing on Louis’ face was exactly what I’d been afraid of.

“Oh my god. That. Is. Priceless. Harry Styles. Wearing one of those ridiculous Tesco aprons. I love it!” he squealed, jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. Niall of course joined in on the ‘make fun of Harry-fest’ so I just sat it out. For twenty minutes.

“I swear I’m going to do all our shopping when you’re working from now on. And I’m going to annoy you and you’ll still have to be polite because I’m a costumer. Ha!”

“Do that and you’re not getting any for as long as I work there, Tomlinson.” I threatened, lifting an eyebrow and glaring at him.

He cleared his throat and actually looked a bit uncomfortable. “Right. Or we could maybe spare some time and you could just pick up our groceries when you’re done with work.” He corrected himself quickly.

I smiled smugly at him and got up, walking into the kitchen to finish making dinner.


	23. Chapter Twenty two

It's early June when we finally get the chance to invite my family over for a visit. With both of us working and the flat being a complete disaster a large percentage of the time, we never bothered to set an official weekend aside for visitation. I wasn't particularly enjoying my job at Tesco's, but it killed time while Louis worked long hours and Niall spent most of his nights at Jill's place. They seemed to be getting pretty serious, and I swore Niall always had a glow on his face when he returned from a weekend at her place.

Louis' flat remained a vacant place. It was ridiculous that we both worked to pay the rent for both my apartment and his small house, but we had made a deal and we were sticking to that. I couldn't leave Niall alone, no matter how much Louis and I were ready to officially settle down together.

My mother adored Louis. She had gushed to me about him plenty of times over the weekend.

"Harry, he's such a sweetheart. I'm so glad you've gotten yourself a good man. He's the kind of guy a mother dreams of her child marrying, you know. He's got a steady job, a big heart, and he's easy on the eyes," my mom had whispered as we cleaned the kitchen after our first meal together. I choked on the sip of water I had taken, a drop dribbling down my chin at my mother's words. She had merely laughed it off, promising me she didn't mean anything of it.

Louis and Gemma spent a large portion of their visit arguing over a video game in the living room. Not in a bad way though. Just friendly banter. Luckily, my sister seemed to enjoy having him around as well. The entire duration of their stay, Louis had refrained from any sexual encounters after that awkward morning at his father's. He said he refused to be referred to as a bad influence on me - as if it was entirely his fault that we couldn't keep our hands off of each other. Well, it could be. I mean just look at him. As soon as they left earlier today, Louis had pinned me to the door and did me good right against it. Filthy, filthy boy he could be.

Now, it was Sunday night and we were sitting around the television watching a football game with Niall. I sat on the floor, my head resting between Louis' legs as his fingers ran timidly through my curls. He and my best mate were discussing the game, both laughing at the mistakes the players made as they sipped on their beers. It was nice to see them getting along so well. When I thought of the time over a year ago when I had feelings for Niall, I kind of cringed. It was even worse when I remembered the ridiculous jealousy game Louis and I had played for weeks, hoping somehow it would get a straight boy to fall for his best friend. I was hopeless, and now Louis had just turned me into a hopeless romantic.

"Ugh, come on Manchester! Christ, you'd think after years of being together the boys would know how to pass the ball," Louis shouted when their pass was interrupted by the opposing team wearing white uniforms. I wasn't big on football to be honest, but Louis was a big fan so I liked to watch games with him and Niall whenever possible.

Niall chuckled, taking another swig of his beer as he nodded in agreement. I leaned my head back onto Louis' lap, looking up at him and smiling cheekily. "Think you could do a better job, Lou?" I teased, feeling him laugh beneath me.

"Actually Curly, I don't think. I know," he spat back defensively, a smile tugging at the corner's of his lips.

"I know you'd look better in the shorts than they do," I mumbled, and Niall snorted beside me.

"I actually have to agree with that, Lou. Your boyfriend's got a nice arse for a lad, Harry," Niall joked, winking at me when I turned my head a bit to look at him on his side of the sofa.

"You don't know the half of it," I whispered back, smiling when Louis' mouth dropped at my sexual joke. His legs squeezed my shoulders as small punishment. Niall was used to the jokes by now anyways, so he just laughed and shook his head, muttering that oh, he was glad he didn't.

When the game ended, Louis yawned and stretched behind me. Suddenly, I felt his two arms wrap around my neck and his body press against my back. His chin rested on my shoulder and he turned his head a bit to press kisses on my neck. Niall flicked the television off before sliding off the couch, groaning loudly as he stretched, his jumper riding up to reveal the pale skin of his stomach. Nothing like Louis' wonderfully tan skin.

"It was nice seeing your mom again this weekend, Harry. Sorry I didn't stay for very long though, I had plans with Jill before I knew they were coming over. She still looks fucking hot though," Niall huffed, nearly drooling. "How was she around the two of you?"

"She loves Lou. She's absolutely smitten by him, I think. It was nice seeing her again though. I really missed her. She ought to come over more often," I mumbled, leaning into Louis' touch, my hands squeezing the arms wrapped around me.

"I agree. She was a sweetheart. Might have to steal her as a replacement for the lame excuse of a mother I had," Louis chuckled, but I knew there was a small hint of pain behind those words. I raised one of his hands, kissing the knuckles after he spoke. He sighed into my neck, and it was a long, shaky sigh that only appeared when he was exhausted.

"It's been a long weekend. Time for bed love," I whispered, lifting myself off of the ground. Niall wished us a good night before heading off to his bedroom, grabbing his mobile off of the table. Chances were that .he would spend the next two hours on the phone with Jill. I turned to pull Louis up with me, cooing at his heavy eyelids drooping shut.

"Come on babe, time to snuggle and sleep," I said again, pulling at his hands. He nodded and blinked a few times before standing up. He allowed me to tug him up the stairs behind me and to the washroom, watching as he leaned against the bathroom counter, lazily brushing his teeth and then stumbling over to the toilet to have a wee. Once we were both washed up and ready for bed, I carried him across the hall to our bedroom, both of us giggling like little children as I stumbled there. We fell asleep easily in each other's arms, both tired from a long weekend.

\-----

The following afternoon, I managed to get my paperwork filed before the end of my shift and was excused early from work. It was nice and sunny out, an almost perfect Summer day. Niall was probably at home and Harry was at work. He had an hour left of his shift and then he was going to catch a bus home, but perhaps I could surprise him.

Twenty minutes later I was pulling into the Tesco's parking lot, grinning like a fool as I made my way to the entrance. I had stayed away from the store for a while after Harry's threat to banish our sex life for a few weeks if I embarassed him, so technically this was my first time shopping here since Harry got the job. I entered the familiar store, finding myself in the very colorful produce section. I had no clue where Harry was, so I grabbed a basket and began to stroll around.

I grabbed a few things I knew we needed, like bananas, eggs and a few boxes of tea. I couldn't spot Harry anywhere, and I was beginning to think he may be out back sorting through boxes or something when suddenly I spotted a tuft of curls stocking shelves in the aisle next to mine. I could see him through the cereal boxes and the cans on the other side, crouched over to collect whatever he was putting on the shelf.

"Harry," I shouted, and he jumped. He looked around, clearly confused as he couldn't see the source of the voice. I clasped a hand over my mouth to stop from laughing as I watched him through the cracks, looking dazed as he glanced from side to side, shrugging before crouching over again to continue his work. "Curly," I shouted again, and he did the same.

I noticed his apron tied tightly around him, showing off his slim waist in an adorable way. "You look cute in that apron baby," I added, and then he finally spotted me through the cracks in the aisle, his eyes lighting up and then quickly being replaced by a frown.

"Lou," he muttered, "what are you doing off work so early? I thought we agreed you wouldn't come here." He pushed a few of the cans on his side of the aisle aside so that he could get a clearer view of me peeking through.

"I finished my paperwork and thought I'd say hi and then drive you home. We didn't agree to anything except that I wouldn't play the annoying customer and I have done nothing of that sort," I scoffed in defense, and Harry's smile returned as he chuckled.

"You're playing the sexy customer," he mumbled with a cheeky wink. "C'mere."

"I just need to grab some milk then I'll be right there," I replied and he nodded, returning to his work.

I walked down to the dairy section, grabbing a carton of milk and adding it to my basket. It only took a a minute, but by the time I got to the aisle Harry was in, there was an older woman in an apron talking to him. I smirked, a witty idea popping into this brilliant brain of mine. I approached them and saw Harry peek at me, looking me up and down in approval, before turning his gaze back to the woman. She had her hands on her hips and he had his hands stuffed into his pockets, intently listening to his words.

"Of course, Mrs. Martin. I'll do that for you first thing tomorrow," he said when she finished speaking.

I cleared my throat, taking a few more steps forward when they both turned to look at me. Harry had an eyebrow raised, probably noticing my cheeky smirk and wondering what I could possibly be up to.

"Hello sir," I said specifically to Harry. "I was wondering if you could help me find something. My boyfriend and I just used up the last bit of our whipped cream, and I can't seem to find more anywhere in the store."

Harry's eyes widened and he flushed from his cheeks down to his neck. He pulled his hands out of his pocket and tugged nervously on his shirt collar, clearing his throat. "Um, well they're over by the dairy products. I could show you there if you'd like," he stammered, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Thanks babe," I said with a wink, enjoying the way Harry blushed even darker and the woman looked between the two of us skeptically. It was clear she suspected something, and that just made me smile even wider.

"Right this way," Harry mumbled casually, brushing past the both of us. I winked at the woman before turning on my heels, shuffling behind Harry. He didn't say a word as he guided me back towards the dairy aisle, treating me as just a regular customer.

"What's wrong, Curly?" I grumbled, because I wasn't just regular customer.

"That was my manager," he hissed, finally turning to look at me. I clutched the basket tightly by my side, barely managing to hide my snicker. "Louis, this is not a laughing matter!"

That was enough. I couldn't stop myself anymore. I puffed into a fit of giggles, and Harry gave me a dirty look, crossing his toned arms over his chest. "Oh, baby," I cooed, struggling to catch my breath. "You should see your little face."

I reached up to poke his nose with my index finger, faking a frown when he didn't react. He just glared at me as I smiled up at him. I couldn't help it. He looked adorable when he tried to hold a grudge.

"That's it, Lou. No sex for a week," he growled, turning around and leaving me standing in place with my mouth dropped open.

"Harry-"

"None," he shouted without turning around. He stormed towards the fridge where the whipped cream was clearly on display through the foggy glass window, opening it up and grabbing one of the blue cans. He walked back over to me, dropping the bottle into the basket. "There's your whipped cream. I'd just like to make it clear that for the next week you'll have to use that as a topping on your pastries, not for anything else."

"I can't lick it off your naked body?" I pouted, receiving another dirty look from him.

"Go pay for our stuff babe, I'll see you in the car in fifteen minutes," he said, waving me towards the checkout. I puckered my lips for a kiss and he snuck a glance around us, sighing and granting me with a quick peck when he noticed we were alone. "Now go," he ordered with a small smile.

"I love you," I shouted over my shoulder.

"You're a goof," he said, walking back towards the aisle he had been working in. "But somehow, I love you too."

\----

"You look tired Niall," I said to the blonde haired boy as he walked into our kitchen the next day. I was wearing joggers and one of Louis' shirts, and Louis was shirtless, wearing only a pair of my sweats. I was sitting on his lap at the kitchen table, my arms wrapped around my smaller boyfriend's neck. We had been sharing a quick good morning snog when we heard Niall walk down the hallway, reminding us that we sadly were not alone.

"I was up late talking to Jill. She wants me to meet her parents this weekend," he groaned, and I just smiled.

"That's great news, Niall. It means she really cares," Louis said with a smile, his fingers rubbing circles into my hips. "It took me forever to take Harry home, and I really loved him when I finally did, so she definitely loves you Niall." I grinned at Louis, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. I mumbled an "I love you too" before returning my attention to the Irish boy standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, and I'm really in love with her too. She's perfect. I think I want to be with her forever," he stammered as he shuffled to the fridge for a glass of orange juice, a sparkle in his eye. "It's crazy to say that, I know. I mean we're both so young and stupid and reckless, but it really feels right."

"It's not crazy, Niall. I mean look at us, we feel the same," I mumbled, leaning my forehead against Louis' temple. He smiled and pulled me closer. Niall watched us, his lips pinching into a small smile.

"You're actually so in love it's nauseating sometimes, but that's an incredible thing and I'm so bloody happy for the two of you. You're adorable most of the time," Niall beamed, sitting on the counter. "I wanted to talk to you guys about something, though."

I exchanged a quick look with Louis, confusion evident on both of our faces. He quirked an eyebrow at me and I shrugged, both of us unsure of what was coming.

"Are we... is this too much? Are we too much?" Louis suddenly sputtered, pushing me off of his lap. "I mean, we're really sorry. You should have just told us and-"

"No, not at all," Niall interrupted, waving his hands up to stop Louis. "In fact, you've been a lot less then usual. I'm beginning to worry."

"I'm on day four of a sex ban," Louis confessed, and I smacked him on the back of the head. Niall snickered and I felt myself flush. Louis clucked his tongue and winked at me, grabbing my hand and pulling me back onto his lap. I bit his ear as a punishment, and he just giggled.

"Anyways, what's going on Niall?" I asked, focusing on my best mate squirming nervously on the counter.

"Well," he began, sighing heavily, "Jill and I have been talking and... well, we kind of wanted to get our own place. Harry, I know you and I agreed to stay here until after uni, but I thought maybe you and Louis would enjoy having the apartment to yourselves? I mean, we made a promise to each other when we first bought it so I won't leave if you don't want me to. Plus, I don't want you to think that I don't want to live here. I love being with you boys. You're two of my best mates and fuck, I don't want to leave you but I feel like I'm ready to take that next step in my life with Jill, you know?"

His rambling was so adorable, and I saw Louis smile beneath me as Niall spoke. When he finished, he looked up at us with sad eyes as if he felt guilty for wanting to do this. He had no clue how happy that made us. Not because we wanted to leave Niall, of course, but because we were also ready to take that next step and having him around was the only obstacle.

"Niall, god man, don't feel guilty about it," I exclaimed, climbing off of Louis and walking over to pull him off the counter and into a hug. "Honestly, we have been considering the same thing since Louis moved in here but we didn't want to leave you. We love you, Niall."

I could see Louis watching us from the table, a grin plastered on his face. He was definitely over my old crush on Niall and I was glad he trusted me enough not to be jealous anymore.

"So you guys want to move out, too?" Niall asked, pushing me away. I nodded, and he continued. "So neither of us want to keep the apartment?"

"I don't think so," I said, and we both laughed nervously. We glanced around the room, and it was kind of a strange feeling to think that, if we followed through with this, we wouldn't be living here soon. We had become acustomed to this apartment, and leaving it might be a little hard. We'd move on to bigger, better things though. "I think we're going to move into Louis' flat."

"Actually baby, I thought maybe we could get our own house to settle down in. Something newer and more us," Louis shouted from his spot on the other side of the room, and I turned to him with my mouth wide open in shock. He had never mentioned that before - but then again, we hadn't planned to actually move for a long time.

"Really?" I gasped, and Louis nodded, standing up to walk towards us.

"If you want to," he added, and I closed the distance between us to grab his cheeks and pull him in for a kiss.

"Jesus, Louis. Of course I would want to!"

We all ate breakfast like that, giddy off of the idea of finally pursuing this dream we've had for a while now. We were all in love and ready to move on, to settle down for good. We were all sure this was what we wanted, and we knew it was a big risk, but it was one we were willing to take. If this all worked out, we'd be out of here within the next couple of months and neither of us could wait.


	24. Chapter Twenty three

“What about this?” I asked Louis, turning my laptop a little so he could see the property I had been looking at.

“Nah, too small.” he shrugged. “Maybe Niall and Jill will like it.” he added and shoved my laptop to my other side, showing it to Niall who indeed seemed to find it interesting. It was the third night in a row that was spent house hunting. Ever since we had all agreed to move out and get places to live of our own, we suddenly couldn't bear waiting any longer and it had to be arranged as soon as possible.

Niall and Jill had made quite a few calls about flats they liked and on which the rents weren't sky high, but they had all been off the market already. The London estate market was a tough business, especially if you didn't have fortunes to spend.

Louis on the other hand, was being absolutely impossible. He turned down everything I showed him, it was either too small, too old, in the wrong neighbourhood or all of the above. He was slowly but surely driving me crazy. Especially because he never came up with any alternatives to what I found. He was tapping about on his own laptop but never showed me anything.

Niall grabbed my laptop and took it onto his own lap, looking through the details of the nice flat I'd been looking at. “Well fuck you Tomlinson. I'm tired of this. You never like whatever I show you, so I'm just going to stop looking. I'm starting to think you just want us to move into your flat after all.” I huffed out, more frustrated than mad, but at least I got him to look at me, his eyes wide open and something between amusement and shock on his face.

“Harry! It's not that! It's just that you keep showing me ridiculously small places! I'm not going to move to some place that's smaller than my own flat or in some dodgy neighbourhood or anything.” he replied, grabbing my hand and squeezing it as his other hand reached up to hold my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I just want our house to be perfect. I don't like moving, so I want to do it properly now, so we won't have to go through all this again in three years, okay?” he pressed a soft kiss to my lips and if I had been angry with him, I sure as hell couldn't be now.

“Yeah, sure. Just, you look for something then, okay? Show me what it is that you want?”He nodded and smiled at me before I got up to get another round of beers from the fridge.

“What about this?” he asked me as soon as I sat down, the remote control in my hand so I'd have something to do while he was looking for some places for us to live. I raised an eyebrow. He had found something already?

I adjusted myself on the couch so I could see what was on his laptop screen and chuckled humourlessly when I noticed the pictures and the insane price that was on top of the page. “No.”

“Alright, this one?”he tried again, clicking the first tab away to reveal another property that looked pretty much like the first one, and was obviously in the same price category. “Louis, I agreed on buying us a flat, so we'll have something of our own rather than renting one and depending on a landlord. And yes, I know you'll have some money from selling your apartment, but seriously, what you're showing me know are freaking cottages. I'm working at Tesco's. Not even regularly, it's only a summer job. We can't afford these kind of things! Unless you've discovered that one of those plants that's been dying in our kitchen for years now is actually a tree that grows money.” I shook my head, was he really that unrealistic?

“But Harryyyyyy.” He whined. “We do have the money. Sure, we'd have to go to the bank for a small loan, but that wouldn't be a problem because I've got a solid job, and in a couple of years, so will you, mister A plus-student.”

“A small loan? Louis, how much are you expecting to get from your apartment? I'm aware that prices in the London area have gone up in these last few years, but it won't even be half of what they're asking for the houses you're showing me!” I was getting desperate here. Louis obviously wasn't getting my point and Niall was just watching us in amusement. Great best friend he was.

“Curly, listen to me...”he started but I shook my head.

“Louis, that loan is going to take up like two thirds of your paycheck. And sure, I get my monthly allowance from my mum for food and some part of the rent, but no matter how much she loves you, I really don't think she'll be willing to double it any time soon. So no, we can't afford it. And that's final! Look for something more affordable.” The last sentence came out more as a mutter and I turned to the tv, pressing some random button until the screen lit up with a news broadcast. I could see Louis out of the corner of my eyes, his lips pressed together in something between a pout and an annoyed frown and his eyes closed before he reached out to grab the remote, pushing the red button at the top to turn the tv off again.

“Now you'll listen to me, alright?” he demanded, waving distractedly when Niall snuck out of the living room, deciding it would be safer to exit the war zone.“Hear me out first, and when I'm done, you can talk.”

I rolled my eyes but scooted over anyway, perching myself up against the opposite armrest so I was facing him. “Yeah yeah, talk, I'll listen.”

“Okay. Yes, we will have to get a loan from the bank, but no, it won't be a large one.” I opened my mouth to protest but shut it again when he raised his hand.“I've got money, curly. When my mother left, dad started saving up for me and Lottie, because he wanted to make sure we'd be able to get into uni, get a nice place to live and stuff like that. I knew that, but I also knew it took him a lot of effort. It wasn't always easy for him to bring up two kids on one paycheck, and I knew about him repairing his shirts and trousers because he couldn't afford any new ones, or not eating at night because there wasn't enough for three, so I never took it for granted. I might not always look smart, but I got good grades at school, and I managed to get a full scholarship for uni, somehow. So I didn't need the money, I took the small room university provided me with and tried to persuade my dad to keep the money and use it on our house, and on him and Lottie, I was doing fine. Of course he didn't listen, he's probably as stubborn as I am, so when I graduated, he insisted I'd have the money, and he helped me pick out my apartment that I bought from that money. It was almost enough to cover it completely, and the bank easily gave me a loan for the rest of it, since I had a nice job offer already, and I would be able to pay them back in about five years. I did the last payment last week. Any comments on this part?” he asked cheekily.

I stuck my tongue out at him and thought for a while, but there really wasn't much for me to say, so I just shook my head and waited for him to continue.

“Alright. So far for the money I did know about. When I turned 21, I got a letter from another bank, stating that there was another account on my name, and since I was now 21 I had full rights to the money on it, I should just contact them and bla bla bla. Turned out that my mother's parents had been saving up for us as well. Lottie doesn't know yet, but she'll get her share when she turns 21 herself, and I'm not telling her about it so she can decide what to with in due time. They had died, but specified that we would only get the money when we were 21, and made sure that our mother could never get her hands on the account. Seems like they knew their own daughter fairly well. It was a lot of money. And I really mean a lot. I gave part of it to my dad, and told him to fix the roof of our house from it, and buy a new washing machine before the old one broke down completely, but there was still more than half of it left.” He sighed, reaching out for his beer and swallowing half the contents of the bottle down in one go. “I didn't want the money. I barely knew those people, and they never even called or visited us after our mother left, so I didn't want to use their money either. It's still on the bank.”

“What has changed that you want to use that money now?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper because of the shock.

He shrugged. “You.” I huffed, but he just smiled. “I'm serious. You made me realise that being left by my mother scarred me, and it will always be a really painful memory, but it also made my family as close as we are now. And I'm not her. I'm not incapable of loving someone, or being loved. And saving that money was probably the only way my grandparents knew of letting Lottie and me know they still cared about their only grandchildren. So I should use it on the man I love. To get a house I love, to live with him.” He sat on the couch, his legs crossed in front of him and his hands fumbling with his socks as he spoke, eyes trained on his toes. He glanced up shortly before he spoke again.“I'm serious Harry, I want to buy us a house to live in for years. I know this sounds cheesy and probably foolish to everyone who doesn't know us, but I just know that we'll be together for a long, long time, if not forever, so why get some crappy place we don't even really like if we can get a place we love?”

I sighed, running my hands through my hair before I leaned forward to grab his hands in mine.“But Lou... It would be your house. You would be the one buying it, not me. I don't have that much money, and I would maybe be able to pay half the loan with the money I get from my mum.”

“Does that really matter, Harry? If you really think it does, we can still change things when you've got a solid job, I mean, in a few years you'll have more money and we can make arrangements so we both own equal parts of the house. But even now, even if I technically pay for it, it would always be our house. I wouldn't even think of buying such a house for me alone. Please? At least consider it? Just look at houses and see if you like them, and don't turn them down just because of the price?”

Another sigh tumbled past my lips, but I knew I couldn't refuse him anything when he was looking at me like that. His eyes big and blue, shining with a slight hint of moist and looking oh so hopeful. “Fine. But just, I haven't decided on anything yet, and nothing too ridiculous like that house with an outdoor swimming pool you showed me yesterday, deal?”

He grinned from ear to ear. “Deal!”

Countless evenings and weekends were spent driving around the city to look at houses and apartments we would maybe like, but without much luck. Jill and Niall finally had gotten lucky with a not too small flat just around the corner from where we lived now, and they were making plans of moving in there in a month or two, but Louis and I hadn't found anything to both our liking yet.

“This looks rather nice from the outside.” Louis chirped from behind the steering wheel, peeking outside the window to the small house we were parked in front.

“At least there's not half a rusty car on the driveway like last week.” I cringed. The pictures on the website had looked promising, but the outside of the house wasn't half as bad as the inside. There was mould everywhere on the flaky walls, there were several leaks in the bathroom and the tiny garden looked like there had been a gnome war going on. Not exactly what we were looking for.

A few minutes later, we recognised Karen, one of the agents from the estate agency we had contacted a few times already walking down the road towards our car. We got out and greeted her before she took us to the house we were here for. Louis had been right, it looked pretty nice from the outside, a small patch of lawn at the front, a few of the ugliest garden gnomes I'd ever seen seemingly randomly spread around it, but at least it looked like it had been taken good care of. The front door looked like it was freshly painted in a bright red, and I could easily tell Louis liked it already.

“And this is the third bedroom. A little on the smaller side, but you could still easily fit in a children's bed and cupboard.” I choked on my own spit, feeling way too young to even think about needing a children's bedroom and Louis chuckled when Karen quickly added two large desks would fit as well. “You also have quite a good view on the backyard here, as you can see it's not very large, but still pretty good for a small house in this prize category, and in this area.”

I cast a glance out the window, and had to admit she was right, it had to be one of the largest gardens we'd seen so far, and at least this one had been taken care of and didn't need three years of work before you could set foot in it again. “It almost looks too good to be true.” I admitted. “Why did you say they're selling again?”

“It was an elderly couple, the man died two months ago and the wife went to a retirement home. They didn't have kids, so she wants to get it sold as soon as possible so she can pay for her stay there. And I don't mean to push, but I'd be quick to decide if I were you. You're the first ones I'm showing it to, but I have no doubt it will be gone in a blink of an eye if we put it on the market for real.”

I bit my lip and glanced at Louis, who was biting the nail of his left pinky finger. “Could you keep it for us until noon tomorrow?” I finally asked.

Karen smiled and nodded.“Of course, no problem. If I haven't heard back from you at noon, I'm putting it on our website.”

“Great, thanks.” I smiled back and I could see Louis crack a big smile as well. We said our goodbyes and drove back home in silence, both of us obviously having enough to think about on our way.

\---

“You want it that house.” Harry didn't even ask. He didn't need to because yes, of course I wanted that house. It was by far the best one we'd seen, and it just seemed perfect for the two of us, and who knew, eventually maybe some extensions to our little family.

“Don't you?” I replied, throwing myself on our bed. We'd gone straight to the bedroom once we arrived home because Niall and Jill were having a romantic movie night in the living room.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaving it in an adorable tousled state. “I do, but...”

“We'd have to put in a new bathroom before we move in.” I nodded, understanding where he was going.

“Yeah, it's not only horrendously ugly, it's also really worn out. And the same goes for the kitchen, although I suppose that could wait a little longer if it's necessary.” he agreed, flinging himself on the mattress next to me. He leant on his elbows and watched me. “But it is the best thing we've seen over all this time. And the price is ridiculously low for what we'd get for it.”

“Yep. Have you got your laptop here?” I nodded, turning to my side so I was facing him.

“Yeah, it's on the desk, why?”

“So we can have a look at kitchens and bathrooms.” I grinned excitedly.

The next two or three hours were spent looking around the Internet to look at bathrooms and kitchens, compare prices and laugh at some of the ugly designs some people seemed to like for their bathroom tiles. Niall and Jill had long gone to bed when we finally closed the laptop and started getting ready for bed. Harry was already between the sheets when I'd come back from brushing my teeth and looked half asleep when I joined him.

“So, we're doing this then?” he muttered as I curled up into his side.

I nodded and smiled against his chest. “Yeah, I guess we are.”

“God, I can't believe I'm going to buy a house. I feel so grown up now.” he chuckled, making me smile at the vibrations resonating in his chest beneath my ear.

“I'll call Karen first thing tomorrow, and let her know my flat is up for sale now as well. And I'll call the bank for an appointment for the loan to renovate the kitchen and the bathroom.” I reasoned, ticking everything we needed to do off on my fingers.

“Shut up Lou, you're making me feel old. I'll just bring home a bottle of champagne to celebrate when I get off work tomorrow, okay? You can handle all the grown up-stuff.”

“Oh. Aren't you going to celebrate with me in a grown up kind of way either then?” I asked, leaning up on my elbow and wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. Harry just rolled his eyes at me and pulled me down on top of him, wrapping his arms securely around my torso as he muttered in my ear that he'd show me how immature twats celebrate tomorrow. I giggled and pecked his lips one last time before we went to sleep, exhausted from all the excitement we'd had tonight.

\---

“Hello?”

I shot my boss an apologetic look before I walked out of the meeting room, annoyed that the contractor needed me once again. Those guys never seemed to be able to do anything by themselves, it was unbelievable.

“Uhm, yes mister Tomlinson, there seems to be a slight problem with the delivery of your shower cabin and the bath tub you wanted. There's going to be some delay.”

“How long?”I demanded, suppressing a sigh. Yet another delay. They should've finished two weeks ago but it seemed my dad had been right, never trust contractors to deliver on time.

“We should be done with the entire kitchen and bathroom in a month, sir.”

“Hell no. We're moving in three weeks. We're not moving into a house that has no bathroom or kitchen. You fix this, you're already two weeks late as it is, you better make sure we can move into a finished house when we're supposed to, got it?”

“I-I'll try sir.”

“You won't try, you'll make sure it happens.”

I hung up and suppressed the urge to throw myself against a wall and scream my lungs out. How did we ever think this would be easy???

When I got home that evening, Harry was in the kitchen, busying himself with making us dinner. It was unusually quiet around the apartment ever since Niall had moved out, but it was quite nice as well. My flat had been sold so I'd moved all my stuff here already, tons of boxes and disassembled furniture were now stocked in Niall's old bedroom, waiting until our new house was ready for us to move in. “Hey baby, tough day at work?” Harry asked, stirring something that smelled like tomato sauce while he bent over to press a kiss to my lips.

“Yeah, kind of. And had a nice phone call from the contractor this morning.” I sighed, pulling a chair from the kitchen table to slump down on.

“I know, I think you scared him a little, he called me back after he called you.” Harry smiled. “He'll make sure he's finished when we move.”

“Oh. Yeah well, I had every right to scare him, stupid fucker. He promised to be ready two weeks ago and now he tells me he'll need another month. I don't think so.” I huffed. Harry chuckled and made sure to turn off the heat under the pans he was using before he came over to me and sat himself down on my lap.

“You're so sexy when you're in charge babe.” he purred, pressing open mouthed kisses down my neck, all the way from my ear to my collar bone. I moaned lightly and bit my lip to keep more sounds from escaping.

“Hmmm, Harry, you know exactly how to make me feel better after a long day at work.” I muttered, throwing my head back on my neck to give him better access.

Half an hour later, I hardly remembered why I had been a bit grumpy when I got home. Harry got up from his knees to reheat our dinner that had most definitely gone cold after our little break while I walked around the kitchen to find my clothes and put them back on.

I went to stand behind him, my arms around his waist and my cheek pressed tightly to his back between his shoulder blades as he watched our plates turn around and around in the microwave. “I love you.” I mumbled, and smiled lazily as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

\---

I took another glance around the now empty living room. Louis and his dad were driving to our new house in the van we'd rented, while Niall and I had stayed behind to get the rest of the stuff ready for moving. It was weird to move out, after three years of living here with Niall. We'd been so happy here, made lots of memories, and we'd have to leave all that behind. It was for the better though, we were moving on to a future with the ones we loved, and it wasn't that we were going to live that far away from each other. In fact, our new places were probably closer than our parents' houses had been back home.

“I'm gonna miss this place.” Niall spoke. I turned around to watch him carry the last box from his old bedroom, putting it in the hallway so it could easily be carried to the van when Louis and his dad got back in a bit.

“Yeah, me too. I've always loved living here.”

“Hmmm, it was nice.”

“Remember the first party we had here? We'd only just moved in a week before, and that sleazy girl you were trying to score with got so drunk she puked into the plant your mum got us.” I chuckled, laughing harder when I saw Niall's disgusted face.

“Oh god yes, that was gross.”

We carried on retelling memories we'd made in the flat as we walked through it, checking every room to make sure nothing was left behind. Finally we were done, only a bottle of shower gel that had been left behind in the shower in my hand.

“I can't believe how much things have changed over the years. I mean, I never was one for serious relationships, and now I've moved in with Jill. And you. This is the place where you hopelessly fell in love with me, and thank god also the place where you realised I was straighter than a ruler and you fell for Lou instead. And we're graduating at the end of this year. Look at where we are now Harry, we're all grown up.”

His words had turned into a high beeping sound when he mentioned me falling in and out of love with him. He knew all along? I only noticed my mouth was wide open when Niall's hand reached out to push my jaw upwards.

“What? You really think you were so secretive about your feelings or something? Seriously Harry, you have some creeper ways around you. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be stared at from behind walls and doorways by your best mate who's not-so-secretly in love with you?” he asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“You knew?”

“Uh, yeah. I just felt even more uncomfortable with the idea of talking to you about it, so I chose to ignore it, and Louis came along right when I thought it would drive me crazy. Even the incredible amount of girls I brought home didn't put you off. I mean, I know I'm cute, and sexy, and lovable, and...”

“Shut up Horan. You also have some of the most disgusting habits I've ever seen on someone. I'm so glad I won't have to see you eat nacho's with Nutella anymore!” I exclaimed, secretly relieved about how relaxed Niall had been and still was about my feelings for him.

Niall opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Louis bursting through the door. “Come on lads! Last ride!” he cheered, and his enthusiasm was contagious. His dad had apparently stayed behind in our house so Niall and I would both fit in the van with him, so it was just the three of us carrying the last few boxes downstairs.

“Oh, Niall!”I called as he was about to leave with his last box in his arms. He turned around with a questioning look on his face. “Don't flatter yourself on your observational skills. I'd fallen for you way before we moved here.” I winked and pushed past him, leaving it to him to lock the door behind us.

“Bye dad, see you next weekend! And make sure Lottie brings that boyfriend of hers so I can see if he's a good party for her!” Louis shouted from the doorway as his dad drove off. He'd been the last one to stay behind, Niall and my mum and dad had gone home a couple of hours before. It was always difficult for Louis and his dad to say goodbye since they didn't get to see each other that often. I was happy that his dad and Lottie would come over to stay in our house that next weekend though, I knew it meant a lot for him to show him his new life.

I joined him back in the living room that was still a mess, but we were both too tired to care much. All furniture had been assembled today, and put in the right rooms, and most of the boxes had been carried to the room where they belonged, so we'd just sort the rest out the next weekend and sometime during the next week. I was glad Louis had taken the week off at work, and I still had three more weeks off before uni started again. I had to drag myself up the stairs to our bedroom, and noticed Louis was in the same state, tired as hell. It didn't stop me from carrying out the plan I'd had for a couple of weeks now though.

“Louis!”I called right before he was about to enter our room.

“Hmmm?” he turned around, sleepily rubbing his eyes with his fists like an adorable toddler.

“Hold on, gotta carry you over the threshold, don't you think?” I asked him cheekily, happy as his eyes lit up in surprise.

“We didn't get married, Styles.” he scolded playfully, but I just shrugged before I swept him up in my arms.

“Feels a bit like it though, and I think it should be a tradition for new houses as much as for new marriages.”

He just smiled and pecked my lips as I manoeuvred us through the doorway, into our spacious bedroom. I threw him down on the mattress and let myself land right next to him. “And when we're both less sleep deprived, we're gonna baptise every single room of this house,” I promised him with a wink.


	25. Epilogue

"Oh, Harry. Harry, look!" Louis squealed, slapping my knee and pointing to the back of the room. I spun around, turning my attention to the bride in her gorgeous white gown. Despite the dozens of people in the room, her gaze had immediately locked on Niall at the end of the aisle, dressed in a fancy black tuxedo. "She looks so beautiful."

"Doesn't she?" I agreed.

The small number of family and friends seated next to us turned around to admire Jill as well. They snapped pictures as she took tiny steps down the aisle, keeping a firm grip on her father's arm. She looked nervous, but she had the biggest smile I had ever seen. The best man and maid of honour stood on either side of Niall in the front of the room, both looking ecstatic to see their sibling on this special day. Greg, Niall's older brother, was his best man and Anna, Jill's younger sister, was her maid of honour. The wedding was small, so the couple had kept their wedding party to a minimal amount of people; which was why Harry wasn't a part of it.

"They look so happy," Louis added, taking out his cell phone to take a quick picture as well. "I can't believe they survived five years together. Well, at the same time it doesn't surprise me actually. They're so sweet together."

"She changed Niall for the better. He stopped sleeping around when they met, and he honestly seems so much happier since then," I mumbled, watching the bride intently.

"Everybody deserves a love like that," Louis whispered, the crowd silent as Jill reached the steps leading up to the small stage. She hugged her father tightly, and he whispered something into her ear that made her smile. Then they exchanged a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to Niall. Her father gave her away before walking over to his seat in the front row, looking on the verge of tears.

"I have mine," I leaned over to whisper into Louis' ear, reaching for his hand on his lap as the couple in the front grabbed hands, smiling widely at one another. I rubbed my thumb along the back of his hand and he turned to grin at me, blushing a little. Even after almost six years I still knew how to turn his cheeks pink.

"Soon it will be us up there," Louis mumbled, and I lifted our hands up to see the ring around his fourth finger. I brought our interlocked hands to my lips and pecked all of his knuckles, lingering on that finger.

"I can't wait."

I had proposed to Louis on our third anniversary at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It had been cheesy and romantic and completely cliché, but I would never forget the look on Louis' face when I had gotten down on one knee. It was a look of shock and admiration, and it also showed how happy he was. His eyes were brighter than ever before, and I was positive in that moment that we'd be okay. I knew everything was perfect and our love would last because we both wanted this more than anything. We had both changed together over the years and became better men, and through that time we grew a special bond that others would never experience. We fell in love, and our love seemed unbreakable.

"I love you," I heard Louis whisper, squeezing my hand. Seconds later I felt a weight drop onto my shoulder, and turned to see Louis snuggling into my side, his attention on the ceremony ahead. Niall was about to say is vows.

"I love you too sweetheart," I mumbled as Niall pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I didn't even have to look to know he was smiling on my shoulder.

\---

"Oh, boys. It's so great to see you!" Niall shouted, pulling Louis and I into a long, tight hug when he finally spotted us at the reception later that evening. We had already had a lovely dinner and watched the couple have their first dance. Louis and I were seated at a table with my parents and my sister when he staggered over, a drink in hand.

"Congrats Niall. It's been an incredible night. You both look so happy. I saw you crying during the ceremony though, you sap," I teased, pressing a sloppy kiss to Niall's temple. Louis snickered and ruffled his hair.

"Yeah I was crying because I'm so excited about getting laid tonight," Niall argued, a crooked smile appearing on his face.

"Bullshit," I snarled.

"Alright. But I actually am getting laid tonight," he whispered into our ears, winking when he pulled back.

"Where's Jill?" Louis asked, looking around the room.

"She went to see her mum. God, I can't believe she's my wife now. I'm married. Jesus Christ, I'm actually married to the greatest woman alive," Niall grinned, his gaze trailing to the bride at the far left corner of the room.

"You are a sap," Louis commented, agreeing with my previous statement. Niall blushed, he actually blushed, and he had a look in his eye that looked a lot like the one Louis gave me the day I proposed.

"I'm going to go grab a drink, want something darling?" Louis asked, rubbing my back.

"Some scotch and coke?"

"Alright. I'll be right back," he murmured. I turned my head to meet his lips in a quick kiss before he walked to the bar.

"We both did it," Niall stammered when my fiancé was gone.

"Did what?" I asked, adjusting his tie.

"We found someone to make us happy. We found our true love," he gushed. "And we're both in a happy long term relationship now. I'm married. You're engaged. It's all pretty crazy. We've known each other for years and it's crazy to see how we've grown up. I'm glad you're still my best friend, Harry. You know how much I love you right?"

His words made me smile, and I shook my head as he beamed at me. "God, you really are sappy tonight. What did you do to my Niall?" I chucked, stepping into Niall's open arms to hug him tightly. "I love you too mate. I don't know what I would have ever done without you."

"Harry, there's something else I've got to tell you. You have to promise not to tell anyone," he whispered into my ear.

"What is it?" I asked, pulling away to hold him at arms length. I was instantly worried; especially since it sounded so secretive.

"It's Jill... She's... Well... I'm going to be a father."

My mouth dropped open at the confession, and my eyes widened in shock. Niall was going to be a father. My Niall. My little, irresponsible, Irish best friend was going to be a father.

"Jesus Christ, Niall. It seems like your life just keeps getting better and better," I exclaimed, pulling him into another long embrace. "That is so fucking exciting! How far along is she?"

"About a month. It's still early and there's still a lot of risks possible so we're not telling anybody yet, but it's so hard to keep to myself. You're the first to know," Niall grinned,

"You guys will make incredible parents Niall. I know it," I reassured him, pulling him close to me again and pecking his forehead. He laughed, shoving me away as Louis approached.

"Hands off my man Mr. Horan," Louis joked, winking at me as he handed me my drink. "It seems you've got a Mrs. Horan waiting for you over there, hot stuff."

Niall laughed at the nickname and turned to see Jill waving him over for a dance. He handed me his half empty beer bottle before fixing his blazer and waving us goodbye. "I'll see you guys soon," he said as he turned to meet his wife on the dance floor.

She pulled him to the centre as the guests watched them, their cameras out as they watched the young couple in awe. A popular slow song began to play and they swayed together to the music. It was a beautiful love song that I knew was one of Jill's favourites.

I placed Niall's drink on the table behind us and pulled Louis close to my side with my free hand. He turned so that we were chest to chest and wrapped his arms around me, careful not to spill his drink. He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and kissed the skin.

"You look sexy in your suit," he whispered, his lips brushing the skin of my neck and sending shivers down my spine. I heard the sound of his glass being placed on the table behind me and then felt his fingers running up and down my waist beneath my blazer. He pulled away to look me in the eyes, blue meeting green as he watched me intently.

"You look pretty amazing yourself Lou," I said in response, leaning down to peck his nose. He giggled and turned his head, his nose scrunching in an adorable way.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked, resting his forehead against mine.

"I'd rather fuck you in the bathroom," I admitted with a wink, a crooked smile appearing on my face. Louis snickered and squeezed my side, shaking his head.

"Do you want to dance?" he repeated with a laugh, ignoring my comment.

"I'd love to."

I put my drink next to Louis' and he guided me to the dance floor with him. There were other couples gathered around the bride and groom (who were currently sharing a very intimate kiss) so Louis and I joined them all.

Louis' arms instantly wrapped around my neck, so I put my own around his waist. I pulled him close, leaving no space between our chests as we began to sway to the slow music. He smiled up at me, his bright blue eyes hypnotizing from this close distance.

I looked over to our friend's who were giggling about something, their foreheads pressed together, and remembered Niall's news. He was going to be a father. It was something I had always dreamed of, and I had to admit I was jealous of him for being able to have a child so easily. His own lover could carry their child, where as things were more complicated for Louis and I.

"Hey Lou," I mumbled. His head was rested on my shoulder, and he sighed heavily against it.

"Mmm?" he hummed.

"Do you think we'll ever be parents?" I asked, and he instantly lifted himself back up to give me a strange look. It was something we had discussed before - not often, but we had briefly talked about it before. He used one hand to cup my cheek, rubbing his thumb across it tenderly.

"Why are you asking me this now?" he questioned me, and I placed one of my hands over his as we stopped swaying, both just staring at each other.

Niall had told me not to tell anyone his secret, but this was Louis and he knew what it was like to keep a secret from your loved one. So I didn't.

"Niall's going to be a father," I answered, and his reaction was very similar to mine. He stared at me, mouth agape, his lips trembling like they were trying to think of what to say.

"What?" he managed. "That's incredible!"

"I know, it's amazing news," I beamed, but Louis still had that hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"What would that have to do with us being parents, Curly?" he mumbled, and I smiled at the nickname he still used on special occasions.

"I want to be a dad Lou. I want to be dad's. I want us to be parents someday. We'd be so good to them Lou," I whispered, one of my hands running up and down Louis' back.

"You really do?" he asked quietly, barely audible over the loud music. His warm fingers played with the tips of the curls framing my face.

"Yeah, I do." He smiled.

"We'll talk about it soon baby. Tonight, I just want you to dance with me and kiss me and fuck me good in our hotel room," Louis said cheekily, pulling me down for a kiss.

"I can do that," I huffed against Louis' lips, smiling when he deepened the kiss. Even in this room of crowded people, all I could think about was Louis. At the end of the day, he was all that I really needed for the rest of my life, and somehow, I knew for sure we'd make it.


End file.
